Mist and Mysteries
by Chibi-no-oneesan
Summary: AU Chapter 8 finally up: In which Howl's curse catches up.
1. Chapter 1

_AN: I've never written for Howl's Moving Castle before, so please be gentle. I'm not entirely certain if this is going to have more points from the Anime or from the Book, but who knows. It's AU, but have pity on me. Once again, this is a first time thing, and if it goes well, I'll continue it. If it doesn't...well, I'll probably just leave well enough alone._

**Disclaimer: I dun own Howl, Sophie, or their castle. Please don't sue me, I have mouths to feed.**

Mist and Mysteries

By: Chibi-no-Oneesan

Chapter One

Most people move through their day to day lives never knowing that two worlds live parallel to each other. It was as such with her as well. She moved through her day to day life, the everyday normal hustle and bustle trying to make ends meet with her father's rapidly failing hat business. The old man had left her two sisters and a step mother, all of whom she loved very much, and a hat business that had reached it's peak about three years before he'd died. Since then, ladies bonnets had faded from style, and it left her and her step mother in a great deal of debt trying to keep the business afloat.

She didn't mind much. She enjoyed the work, but more often than not, she felt a little taken advantage of. As children, many suitors had come by to see her two younger, blond sisters, taking them out to lavish dinners, to extravagant parties. A short year ago, both had gone off to seek their fortunes, leaving her and her step-mother alone at the hat shop.

Lettie had disappeared shortly after that, missing in the great wide world.

Martha had found a place for herself at the small but prospering bakery up the street.

But Sophie Hatter, eldest of the three, remained at the failing business, making ladies bonnets, praying day by day that they would make enough money to get by. She was content to remain where she was.

Then, a few short months ago, her step mother had left to find away to find her dead husbands failing business, and Sophie had yet to receive word from the only slightly older woman.

That particular evening, she closed down shop so she might find something to fill the gnawing void in her stomach. It as a cool evening, fog already descending, making the already cloudy day appear even more dreary. Well, perhaps not dreary. The fog added that pinch of mystery that always made Sophie Hatter, eldest of three, jump at shadows. It was on days like this that she dared dream of different worlds. Worlds where perhaps she wasn't quite so ordinary. A world where she could stand alone, not just an ill-fated older sister, but someone worthwhile.

Since today appeared that it was going to be one of those days, she struck out on her own, heading towards the bakery where her sister worked. She pulled her coat tighter around herself to ward off the coming chill and glanced around the rather dirty Welsh city. A quick glance at her watch told her that it was getting late and she should hasten to Cesari's the bakery at which her sister Martha worked. She hoped the younger girl didn't mind a little disruption, or her elder sister's somewhat shabby appearance.

A hand reached up unconsciously and touched the ginger-gold hair she'd twisted back into a thick braid. She was certainly the plainer of the three. Martha had her mother Fanny's beauty and easy charm, Lettie had their mother's beautiful blond hair and a quick wit.

She was simply Sophie, with green-blue eyes and hair that was torn between red and blond. It was unkempt and her face was heavily dotted with freckles. Her clothing was rather dowdy and in ill-repair due to the shortage of funds. She was more timid and shy than her younger sisters, more practical, and lacking their 'charm', as several men had pointed out.

A frown turned down her lips slightly and she looked around in concern. It would appear that she'd gotten herself turned around, and it was growing more late. If she didn't hurry, she would not be home before dark, and she was pretty enough for it to be trouble if she were to be noticed alone and in the dark.

She turned to find the main thorough fair and bumped into a man who smelled distinctly of alcohol and cigarettes. She stumbled back, seeing the man wearing a leer that most certainly spelled trouble of any possible sort for her. "Pardon me..." She said, backing away.

It was most disconcerting that she ran into a man who looked almost identical and smelled the same behind her as well.

Not good, Sophie. Mentally she cursed her inattention which had led to her unfortunate circumstances.

"Look what we found, little brother..." The first one said, a look in his eyes that made her want to scream and run, but she was being held quite still by the man who stood behind her. He leaned towards her, getting far closer than was proper and invading her personal space. "A little lost mouse..."

She broke free of the other man's grasp and started backing away from them both.

"Why don't you come with us, we'll help you find your way."

"We could take you down the street for a coffee." The 'younger' of the two men said, moving closer towards her.

She backed away again. "No thank you..." She said stiffly.

They laughed. The older one elbowed him. "See, I told you that mustache scares all the girls." The laughter wasn't nice. "Come on, let's just go-"

"There you are, darling, I was wondering where you'd gone!"

The voice was most unfamiliar, as was the hand that rested on her shoulder. She froze and looked up, seeing what she could only say was about the most handsome man she'd ever set eyes on. He had pale blond hair and sparkling blue eyes. He wasn't looking at her, rather was looking rather calmly at the two men who stood wearing peevish expressions.

"Hey, we were just having a word with the little mouse!"

Something odd flashed behind the man's eyes. "Well, I'll take care of her myself, thank you, so I think it's time you two were on your way." Sophie watched him make two slight gestures with his hands and the two men were sent marching off. Her eyes widened in shock and she looked up at the man once again. His eyes moved to her and a small smile turned up his lips. "Little mice should be more careful when they go out after dark." He teased lightly, tapping a finger against her nose.

A dark flush spread across her face and she quickly looked away. Yes, definitely the most attractive men she'd ever met.

"If you'll permit me, I would be your escort." He teased lightly, watching as her flush darkened and he decided he liked the mouse of a girl more for it.

"I'm just going...t-to the bakery..." Her voice was quiet, mousy. "Cesari's..." She didn't raise her eyes to his, but instead took that short time to examine her savior. His clothing was a bit outdated, but he looked quite comfortable, wearing rather loose flowing white cotton shirt and slender black pants. The pants rested so closely to his body she could just make out their shape and idly she wondered why more men didn't wear such clothes. The well kept appearance of them also made her feel horribly out of place when standing beside him. She truly felt like a little mouse, and here was this graceful...feline.

His arm extended around her shoulder and he guided her down the alley. It might have been her imagination, but he seemed rather preoccupied with something behind him. A quick glance made her eyes swell to the size of dinner plates and she looked up at the man who guided her along. Inky blackness followed, oozing out of the walls and ground, swelling up like a wave waiting to overwhelm them.

"Don't panic." He said soothingly. "I'm being followed."

_OBVIOUSLY! _She managed not to yell at him. It was sorely tempting, though. They darted through the mist and she yelped when he wrapped an arm around her waist, taking one hand and jumped right up into the air. Her eyes squeezed tightly shut and she let out a small squeak. It was with no small amount of desperation as she clung to the hand, and she clung to the other when it was offered to her as well.

"Just relax and put your feet down..."

The vaguely amused sound of his voice made her want to growl at him, but she instead extended her legs, and heard him laugh softly.

"Very good, now we walk..."

Somehow, the warmth of his hands on hers, the knowledge that he wasn't going to let her fall gave her courage. Slowly, she allowed her eyes to open and she stared out, through the dense fog. It was as though they'd stepped off of Earth and were in a completely different world. It felt joyously free to walk on the air. Like she was more than simple Sophie and a small smile worked it's way onto her face. She looked towards the man who held her as they descended, walking towards the roof of what she could clearly see was Cesari's.

For the first time in her life, Sophie felt like a girl again, instead of a shriveled up old woman.

"You're a natural..." He whispered softly in her ear. Her smile was like sunlight. Pure, radiant. She wasn't classically beautiful, no, but there was something about her that was getting under his skin. That meant he had to get away from her. And fast. The empty place in his chest seemed to tremble in the wake of that smile. She had this...something...that he hadn't seen in a woman before.

A soft, lilted laugh left her lips and if it were possible, his heart would have been turned immediately into goo.

They set easily down on the roof and he gave her one of those charming smile he always shared with a lady. "I'll lead them away. Wait awhile before you come out again." The smile turned into a slight smirk on the corners of his lips. "And do be careful, this time, little mouse."

She was horrified when she felt color rushing to her cheeks. Oh dear god, she was blushing! Shyly, she nodded at the handsome stranger and felt him lightly tap her nose again. Her eyes crossed slightly, following the finger.

"That's my girl." He said quietly, and then seemed to simply vanish.

It was with a dazed expression that Sophie finally entered Cesari's, from the door which led to the roof top dining room. His girl? She didn't even know who he was! He certainly did presume a lot! But he seemed kind, and he had saved her from those men. And he was extremely handsome.

But where on Earth had he gone?

He'd walked on the air with ease, so assuming he'd plummeted to the ground was out. How had he done that anyways? Things like that weren't possible. Except in movies. Like the Matrix. A small smile turned up her lips at the thought, but she'd quickly dashed that idea. Where had he gone? People didn't simply disappear off of rooftops. She was still pondering this quandary when she entered the main store of Cesari's.

Upon entering the room, her half-sister Martha immediately threw her arms around her. "SOPHIE!!!" She all but screamed, drawing the attention of most of the patrons. "Dear girl, you look a fright! What happened?!" Martha took her into the kitchens and grabbed them each a fresh cookie off the tray.

Sophie nibbled on her cookie, staring off into the bright kitchen. "I almost got attacked on the way here..." She said weakly.

Her sister looked startled. "In daylight?!" She huffed. "Those darn fool men. It's a good thing I've got..." A faint flush covered the girl's cheeks and she looked back at her. "So, almost?"

She raised an eyebrow at the younger girl. There was something there that was not being said. She figured she'd return the favor. "Someone saved me...A man." Bright blue eyes filled her mind and she fought the urge to blush as well. It wasn't her fault. He was quite handsome.

Her sister bit her cookie, looking at her from under her eyebrows. "Sounds like a man with some class. What's his name?"

"I haven't the faintest." She said softly, taking a large bite of her cookie. She was startled when her sister slapped her arm lightly. "What?!"

"You didn't get his NAME?! What on earth are you thinking?!" Her brow creased. "This better not be more of that elder sister crap! Just accept that mom's abandoned you and the shop and PLEASE, do Lettie and I a favor, go out and find your niche in life." Her sister grabbed her hands, a desperate look on her face. "We always wanted you to be happy, and I can't stand seeing you waste away in that blasted hat shop!"

Sophie carefully extracted her hands, a small smile on her face. "Now, Martha...I _am_ happy." What was a white lie when she loved her sister so deeply. A quick glance at her watch made her pale. "Blast, I have to get home. Could you wrap me up a loaf? I need to hurry before it's dark!"

It was with great reluctance that her sister did so, but within ten minutes she had her bread and was out the door, walking quickly through the streets. She paid so much attention to not getting lost that she failed to notice that someone was following her.

0o0o0o0o0o0

He walked into his moving castle, and Calcifer knew as soon as he'd seen him that something was definitely odd about the person who shared the contract with him. "Oi, Howl, you look pale. Did you see that old hag while you were out wandering in Wales?"

Howl, or Howell Jenkins, or Wizard Pendragon as the case may be tossed his friend a careless smile. "I'm always pale, dear friend, so whatever do you mean?" He asked, evading the question with a skill born from slipping out of tricky situations most of his life. What on earth was he going to do about the present one? A glance towards the fire demon told him the small creature wasn't buying it. Not for a moment.

Huge surprise. Calcifer held his heart. Calcifer would have noticed the strange sensations that occurred when he'd been in the company of the girl as well. He sought to distract the demon by tossing another log at him and watching as he snapped the log out of the air. "So, how went everything while I was gone? And where's Michael, I wanted to ask about that spell the King wanted..." He moved over and sat in a chair, looking at his friend with an expression that told him he wasn't going to divulge the information.

Moments later, the door, black knob still turned up, burst open, admitting a winded Michael. "Calcifer, did I beat him back-" He looked up, seeing Howl looking at him wearing one of those unreadable smirks and felt his face heat. "Sorry, Howl, I had some business..."

"Indeed..." Howl agreed. He looked back towards Calcifer. "That answers that question." He sprung to his feet and smiled broadly. He needed to get away from his home-mates and spend some time alone. He needed to think. "Calcifer, heat some water for a bath." He said, then moved gracefully up the stairs. "And move the castle 60 miles north by northwest!"

From his place he could hear the fire demon cursing at him about being used for such mean labor and smirked a bit. It seemed a fair trade to him. He was unable to really feel anything, so he would use the one who was to blame for it for a few simple chores. It wasn't like he had Calcifer hold the castle together with his magic, now that was all Howl. All Calcifer had to do was tell it to move.

He entered the bathroom and nudged a dirty towel aside with his foot. The path to the tub was littered with dirty clothes and towels, the sink, toilet, and tub littered with bottles that held the concoctions he'd used to make himself presentable. Or as Calcifer put it, what he used to preen like a peacock.

A small smile turned up the corner of his lips. He and Calcifer spent most of their time at each other's throats, but there was a deep affection between them. Something that went deeper than mere contract. When he'd been a lonely boy, and Calcifer had been on the verge of death, each had received something they desperately needed. Howl received a friend, and Calcifer received a way to live.

Unfortunately, neither of them knew how to break the contract now as separating them would almost certainly kill at least one of them. Most likely him, since it _was_ his heart on the line. He turned the tap and tested the water against the back of his fingers. A blissful smile turned up his lips while he pondered his collection of scented bath bubbles and finally selected one that had a slightly floral scent.

Lavender was a good, calming scent. It would do him well after the events of the day.

He poured the potion into the tub liberally, closing his eyes and deeply breathing the scent as it permeated the bathroom. Ah, a slice of heaven for a heartless devil. He smirked, then shed his clothing, sinking into the scented, bubbled water. A deep sigh escaped him and he relaxed, his eyes lifting towards the ceiling. It was only then that he allowed himself to remember the days events.

He wasn't sure how the Witch of the Waste had found him in Wales. It troubled him slightly, especially since it was his families home, and he'd left a convenient little target standing on a rooftop. Why he considered her a target to be used against him he wasn't certain. But there was definitely something about that girl that made him itch. The shape of her eyes seemed so familiar as well. But not the color. He could almost grasp the name from the tip of his lips, but found it evaded him quite well.

It took him a few minutes to realize he had an incredibly dopey grin on his face as he thought of the girl and quickly shook off the feeling, suddenly deeply alarmed. Why in the scant moments that he'd known her had he managed to memorize that face? Why could he remember the feel of her hand so clearly it was as if the petite limb was still clinging to his? And why in the HELL had he called her his girl? He was Heartless Howl, Howl the Horrible, who spent his time in Ingary as a Casanova, loving and leaving many different girls, which was ironically how he'd wound up in the situation he'd found himself in his most recent visit to his homeland.

The only thing he didn't know how to write off was the odd feelings the girl had stirred inside him. He couldn't say they were located in his heart, because that area was quite empty. He was quite literally heartless. It had never been that he didn't care for anyone. He simply couldn't. The lack of a heart prevented that.

He suppose he had Calcifer to thank for that. The fire demon was keeping that particular part of him under close watch. It had kept his heart from being hurt by anyone.

Which once again, was how he wound up in this situation to begin with. If he hadn't seduced the Witch of the Waste, none of this would ever have happened. The relationship was extremely short-lived, even for him, because he'd quickly learned that he'd bitten off a bit more than he could chew. He joked often about being wicked, especially since so many women fell for a wicked smirk, but deep down he knew he could never be as dark as that woman.

There was too much that held him in the realm of light.

Evidentially more than he'd ever expected.

A deep sigh escaped him and he looked out the small window in his bathroom out at the sky in Wales. It was where that girl was. That little wispy mouse with the ginger colored braid that more hair fell out of than was kept in.

Why on earth had the Fates placed him in that random back alley? He would have had better luck avoiding the Witch on the main roads, seeing as she preferred anonymity. Yet, something had drawn him into that alley and he'd arrived in time to swoop in and play the hero.

He smiled at the irony. He, Horrible Howl Jenkins had saved a little mouse of a girl and had asked for nothing in return. In fact, he'd behaved much like the hero's in the comics he'd read as a boy. He'd fled the moment he was assured of her safety. He, who was rumored in Ingary to feast on the hearts of young women-a myth he'd helped get started.

He didn't eat hearts.

But he was rather fond of playing with them.

Perhaps he'd spent too much time without his own. Or too much time in the influence of a fire demon who spent his life playing with hearts.

Yet, never once while he was assisting the girl did he think about using her in such a way. It wasn't that she wasn't attractive, quite the opposite. Usually, she would be among his normal 'fare'. But one look at that timid smile, one peal of that joyous laugh, wiped any and all thoughts of treating her like any other girl from his mind.

That made him deeply worried, and extremely uncomfortable. With a sigh, he rubbed his neck with one hand and looked back to the window. He wondered idly if she knew about how close they really were, Ingary and Wales. Two worlds that were superimposed on top of one another, separated only by the mind. And what the mind wanted, usually the world opened up into possibility.

After all, when he'd been a boy, he'd longed to find a place where he didn't need to fear this inner fire, this magic that fit him like a well loved glove. His family had never understood why he was different, and as a result, he'd always kept his heart guarded against them. He could almost taste the bitterness when he thought of his sister, Megan. Her constant impatience at his 'flippant eccentricities' as she'd called them.

They didn't understand that this wasn't something that would just go away. It was part of who he was, part of what he was.

Fortune smiled upon him while he was in college, however, and he met another wizard by the name of Benjamin Sulliman. It was from Benjamin he first learned of Ingary, since the other young man had been traveling between the two worlds since he'd been a mere boy of ten. As soon as he graduated from school, he took up a nearly permanent residence in the other world. Yet, always, he kept the black door, the door to his child hood home, the door which led him to Wales.

Where she was...

He realize his thoughts had once again strayed to the girl he'd only met that day and he cursed. "DAMN AND BLAST!" He snarled, expressing the dark emotion that filled him. It wasn't often he decided to express himself, and when it did, it usually spelled trouble for the castles other occupants. It took a great deal of effort to calm the urge to let the emotions ooze through his skin, several long minutes of meditation techniques he'd learned from his mother.

When he finally opened his eyes, he came to a decision.

He would force himself to forget her. Those eyes, that smile, that lilted laugh.

He would completely wipe her from his memory.

He just hoped it would be as easy to do as it was to say.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sophie stared out the window her face contemplative. She could still remember the encounter from the other day vividly in her mind. The warm, smooth hand wrapped around hers, the amused tone in his voice, the way his eyes seemed to shine from within, from a power she couldn't comprehend.

She'd felt like he'd cast a spell on her.

She looked at her tattered dress and sighed. "You're fine as you are, Miss Sophie Hatter. You don't need any spells to make you special." She said firmly, then went to trim an unfinished hat. She selected a few pieces of fabric and some flowers and set to work. In the time since Fanny had left, she'd begun talking aloud to the hats she worked on, as well as herself. Since Lettie was gone, and Martha was always working, she didn't have many other's to speak to. The hats didn't ridicule her about staying. She even likened them to appreciating all the hard work she did to make them beautiful.

The door to the shop jingled and Sophie looked up, seeing a slender woman with honey blond hair standing in the doorway. The woman looked at her with an unspeakable expression on her face. It stirred definite feelings of discomfort in the younger woman. "I'm sorry, ma'am, I didn't see you there..." Sophie stood, moving around the counter, wanting to get this woman out of the shop as quickly as possible.

She wasn't certain why she felt so unnerved. She looked like any other high-end business customer in Wales. Her feet were clad in Prada boots, and she wore what were probably designer everything. "Is there anything I may do to help you?" She asked softly, trying not to let her unease show.

"Why in the world would he fancy you?" The woman asked with an air of arrogance. She flicked a strand of hair from in front of her face and looked around. "There's nothing special about you..."

Irritation filled her. She couldn't guess what this woman was talking about, but she did not enjoy being ridiculed in her own store. "Ma'am, you will find nothing here for you." Sophie said bluntly, honestly. She could see the shock on the woman's face, but didn't twitch. "Please leave!"

The woman pondered her for a minute, then a positively evil smile turned up the corners of her lips. "I see...I most certainly do..." She said, leaning towards the girl. "You may someday attempt to walk in his world, but he wont know it's you. You're cursed, Miss Hatter...And you will look as old as you feel inside..."

Sophie felt one sharp fingernail touch her forehead and she flinched. When her eyes opened, she found herself alone in her shop. She took a long steadying breath and went back to work more on the hat, hearing an odd popping sound. She passed the full length mirror and stopped in shock on the other side of the mirror. Slowly, she stepped back and looked into the glass, stunned to find an old woman staring back at her. She looked down at her hands and felt fear grasp her.

They were wrinkled, the skin very transparent, each blue vein standing up in sharp relief.

_You will look as old as you feel inside.._

She pulled out her closed sign and hung it on the window. Quietly, she pulled all the blinds and closed and locked the front door, then went upstairs to pack a small bag. Nothing else to do. She would have to run. She couldn't let Fanny or Martha see her like this. She packed the necessary belongings and a small lunch of bread and cheese and silently left the hat shop, walking down the street.

It seemed odd to her. As though the facade that was hers but not had given her courage of a sort. She was certain that was not what the other woman intended, but that's what it had done. She walked past the men who'd accosted her only days before in the alley, but they pretended they didn't see her. She needed to find a way to break this...curse. Lords knew she didn't believe in magic, but if it existed, if this really was a curse, she'd need to find someone with the experience to break such a thing.

Suddenly, the world around her felt like sticky taffy. Like it was stretching around her, pulling or pushing or tearing at her. Fear twinged in her heart for the third time that night, but she kept walking resolutely forward. She was old, she had nothing to lose and everything to gain. This was probably just her mind playing tricks on her...Air didn't feel like taffy.

With a deep breath, she took another step and suddenly, the feeling of warm taffy went away. She looked around and frowned deeply. This was most certainly NOT Wales. Not unless she had somehow magically teleported to the countryside. So then, where _was _she?

She caught sight of a small town down in the valley and sighed, moving towards it.

Just then, a loud grinding sound went up beside her. She froze and looked over and found a castle moving along beside her. Her eyes went wide and she frowned. "That's no way to treat a castle..." She watched as the black bricks rubbed together as it passed her, giving off a cloud of dust that smelled suspiciously like carbon. Then, a few feet up the road, it settled down and rested against the grass.

It was with mild trepidation that Sophie moved towards it, walking around it's perimeter. Her curiosity grew and she felt a girlish excitement rise up through her. She felt the walls, searching for a door through which she could gain entry.

To her surprise, she found one. It's small and wooden, not a grand entry way, almost more like a back door. It a bit of terrified excitement, Sophie pushed open the door and entered the moving castle.

0o0o0o0o0o0

_AN: So, here's my first attempt at a HMC fic. If you've opened this thinking it was going to be based soley on the movie, sorry to disappoint. I've watched the Miyazaki version of the movie, and read Diana Wynn Jones novel, and I liked both, so decided to fuse some of the themes. However, since it is, in fact an "AU" version of the stories, I plan to take several more liberties with it. Besides Sophie starting out in Wales. I may possibly also run the story over into Diana Wynn Jones sequel, "Castle in the Air" (Not to be confused with "Castle in the Sky"). I dunno, it'll depend on whether or not I can get my hands on a copy._

_Please, if you have a comment, I'd love to hear it. Just check the little box in the corner and let me know. Love everyone to pieces! Chibi-no-Oneesan_


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: I've never written for Howl's Moving Castle before, so please be gentle. I'm not entirely certain if this is going to have more points from the Anime or from the Book, but who knows. It's AU, but have pity on me. Once again, this is a first time thing, and if it goes well, I'll continue it. If it doesn't...well, I'll probably just leave well enough alone._

**Disclaimer: I dun own Howl, Sophie, or their castle. Please don't sue me, I have mouths to feed.**

Mist and Mysteries

By: Chibi-no-Oneesan

Chapter Two

Sophie was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a roaring fire burning in the fireplace, lighting the room with an odd green glow. She sighed softly, looking around the room and frowning slightly. Whoever lived here certainly wasn't much of a house keeper. She found a chair buried under a thick layer of blankets and drug it over in front of the glowing green fire. In the flame she could almost see two eyes and a row of jagged teeth and a long, sharp nose. She imagined the two tendrils on the side were arms. It looked rather fearsome.

"Hmmm, and what might you be?" She asked in a drowsy manner. She certainly didn't feel as energetic as she had when she'd been young. It was a good thing she was sitting down, because if she hadn't been, she'd have fallen out of the chair when she'd realized the fire spoke back, spitting glowing red embers.

"I'm a fire demon, what the hell else would I be?" It looked at her. "What do you think you're doing?"

She yawned. "Staying warm." She said evenly.

"Obviously." It snapped. "You're trespassing! You should leave!"

She hummed softly, looking at the fire demon with undisguised interest. "Is this your castle? Moving it seems kind of silly. It will crumble and fall down around your embers."

Those two glowing eyes snapped wide to stare at her. "You don't know who's castle this belongs to?" It asked warily.

She yawned. "Not a clue."

"It belongs to Horrible Howl, a wicked wizard known for eating the hearts of young women!" The demon snapped, seeming concerned. "Do you want your heart eaten?"

Sophie laughed softly. "If he eats the hearts of young women, he wouldn't be interested in mine, now would he?" She said smiling. Hmm? A wizard is it? Perhaps he would know the secret to lifting my curse. But if he could do that, then he'd eat my heart right away wouldn't he? A wry smirk twisted her lips. "Not a great idea..." She mumbled to herself.

The demon seemed to stare at her for a long time.

"So, if this isn't your castle, what are you doing here, anyways?" Sophie should have thought it was odd. She was sitting in a moving castle, speaking to a fire in a fireplace, surrounded by a mess of clutter, and acting like it was the most normal thing in the world. It would have been much more reasonable to run away screaming. She had always been considered an odd one. Her calm acceptance seemed to confirm that.

The fire squirmed. "I have a contract with Howl." It muttered.

"Do you have a name?"

"Of course I have a name!" It started muttering, spewing sparks like spittle every few moments. "Of course I have a name, why in the hell wouldn't I have a name? I'm a fire demon, I'm important."

She watched him for awhile in silence. "What is it?" She finally asked.

"What is what?" It asked, looking at her in complete bafflement.

She cocked her head patiently. "Your name?"

It's eyes widened and it settled down a bit. It seemed to be considering her for some reason. Sophie waited patiently, while it went through it's thoughts, seeming to be arranging them in some way or another. "I'm Calcifer." It said finally, seeming to be a little subdued. "That's some curse you've got..." It said.

She hummed in agreement, looking at the ceiling.

"Let me guess, can't talk about it, right?"

She looked at him in surprise and then smiled. If she'd had a mirror, she would have seen her face go from ancient to youthful in a matter of moments. It seemed to startle the demon a bit and she could have been mistaking, but there looked like two distinct pink marks had formed where it's cheeks would be. "So you can tell?"

"Only a blind fool wouldn't." Calcifer muttered. It averted it's eyes for a moment, then glanced back at her, contemplating something. "Say, if you could find a way to break my contract with Howl, I think I might be able to break your curse."

She tilted her head to the side, and it was like the illusion fell back into place. "Oh, but I'm no wizard or anything, I haven't experience with things like that."

Calcifer seemed to consider this. "Well, if you don't try, you wont know if you can, and if you can't, then I wont have to help you."

Sophie felt her eyes drifting shut and sighed, resting her cheek against the mantle. "Seems fair enough..."

He watched her fall asleep, a slight frown on his face. She certainly was an odd one. The way she dressed wasn't like anyone he'd ever seen before, and her clothing seemed darned to the point where if she tried to do so again, they would simply disintegrate. Her curse was peculiar as well, but it had a similar flavor to that of the one the Witch of the Waste had cast on Howl.

Howl was still evading that one at every step.

More importantly, how had this girl, because he was quite certain she was a girl and not the old woman she appeared to be, never heard of Howl?

Everyone in Ingary knew of the Wizard Howl. They'd made certain of that by spreading those rumors that stated that he ate women's hearts. It ensured their privacy at the castle, and kept most of Howl's unfortunate lovers away. Calcifer scowled. He'd seen this girl's pretty face. That old mask had dropped ever so briefly when she'd smiled. There was no doubt in his mind that as soon as Howl found out, this...naive little thing would be his next conquest.

The thought revolted the fire demon.

This girl had a purity that wasn't tainted by the world yet. A goodness that went far deeper than the skin. A goodness that being used by Howl could quite possibly destroy. No, he wouldn't tell Howl about her. If Howl had the braincells of a goat, he should be able to figure it out his own damn self.

But lately, Howl had been quite distracted, and he'd been going through the black door more and more and more, which could only mean that he had found another girl to pursue, this time in his own home town. Good. Keep him away from this girl, and things would be fine with Calcifer. Because if Howl figured out what she was before she'd figured out how to break the contract, most likely all would be lost.

He couldn't let that happen.

So he'd play a little game with his friend, keep the wool pulled over the wolf's eyes and he'd try to protect her as best as a fire demon who was tied to a fireplace could.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Michael Fisher lay in bed for a long time, staring up at the ceiling, remembering the events of the night before. He had taken to escorting Martha home on a nightly basis, which was becoming easier since Howl had been lost in his own little world. The night before, she'd even invited him inside her small apartment in the place Howl called "Wales".

He cared deeply for his little Martha Hatter, a girl with fine golden curls and shining blue eyes. Her face was rounded pleasantly and she had full pouting lips. He'd recently learned that those lips were, in fact, as soft as they looked, and he'd quite enjoyed re-learning that lesson every time he'd seen her since.

However, last night, she'd seemed troubled, almost withdrawn.

Last night, she'd spoken of her family for the first time since he'd met her. She'd spoke of her father, and his death a few years prior. She'd spoke of her sister Lettie, who had disappeared a short time later. She spoke of her mother, who went to find a way to save her father's hat shop and never returned home.

Now it seemed her other sister was gone as well.

Martha said she'd gone by the hat shop and had been shocked to find it closed. She'd then gone to her sister's apartment above it, shocked to find it empty as well. At first, she'd hoped her sister had gone seeking her fortune, but it wasn't like her to just up and leave like that.

Then she'd mentioned a man that her sister had mentioned, who had saved her.

That had troubled him. Especially since Howl had been so distracted lately. He'd also been spending an unusual amount of time in Wales himself. It eased his spirit that he wasn't interested in Martha, but it worried him deeply that Howl might have been the one who'd 'saved' his Martha's sister. Howl did not do something for nothing. What if she was his newest victim?

With a groan, he rolled over, staring out the window which looked over Porthaven and sighed, wishing silently that he could see out over Wales like Howl's window did.

Yes, Howl's castle was a kind of miracle. Somehow, the wizard had managed to make it exist in two different worlds, and they could, through it's door, enter four different places. At the moment, it resided in the Hills above Market Chipping, the seaside city of Porthaven, and the royal capital Kingsbury. Always, however, it connected through the black door to Wales.

Howl was powerful. Sometimes almost frighteningly so. He also oozed charm that made him able to seduce even the most cold of spinsters. Michael would be lying if he said that it were Howl's other characteristics that had lured him into becoming the wizard's apprentice.

In reality, Howl's faults greatly out-weighed his merits.

The man was vain to a fault, lazy, and he slithered out of whatever distasteful chore he could. Lately, Michael had been doing the transportation spells for the King, and the castle hadn't been cleaned in months. All Howl bothered himself to do was lure unsuspecting women into his clutches and break their hearts, leaving a string of hurt, angry, and broken hearted women all over Ingary, and probably Wales as well.

And spend hours on end in the bathroom primping.

Michael huffed, noting the sun was starting to make it's ascent in the sky and rolled out of bed, heading towards his door. He could hear voices downstairs, and a slight frown turned down the corners of his lips. Why in the name of hell was there a woman in the Castle? Howl was going to have a fit-

He turned the last corner and found a little old lady with a messy braid sitting in front of the fire, looking rather irate, talking to Calcifer, their fire demon. He blinked, looking from one to the other.

"I'm sorry that you consider it demeaning, but I can't cook any breakfast at all if you don't lower your head and let me stick this pan on it." The woman said, her arms crossed, one of their skillets dangling from that frail looking hand as though it weighed absolutely nothing at all.

"Tough." Calcifer snapped back, spitting sparks.

When he noticed the woman's grip shift and realized she was about to bludgeon the poor unsuspecting fire demon, he decided to intercede on both of their behalves. "He wont let any one cook on him but Howl."

The woman jumped, startled and looked towards him, seeming shocked that there was someone standing there. Then, she shot Calcifer a look that would have scorched the demon's hair if it wasn't already made of flame. "Is that so?"

Calcifer stuck his tongue out at her.

She leaned towards the fire demon in an intimidating manner. "Then maybe I should just go and let you figure out the whole situation on your own."

There was a distinct threat in that. He would have had to be deaf and blind not to know that. Calcifer seemed to shrink back and was about to open his mouth when Michael moved forward. "I don't think we even have anything for breakfast. I've been a bit busy this week, and haven't gotten to do the shopping. Howl, of course doesn't lift a-"

The door swung open and Michael's mouth snapped shut quickly.

A rather tired looking Howl entered the castle.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sophie stared at the man who entered, feeling shock numb her brain. No, it couldn't possibly really be him. He was the Wizard Howl? It couldn't be, yet at the same time it made a horrible kind of sense. She looked towards Calcifer, who was looking at Howl as well.

"Howl! She's bullying me!" He cried, actually sounding upset. Yet, she could pick up a merry trace in that face made of fire.

Howl looked around the room, arching an eyebrow. "It takes a special kind of person to do that." He said, moving towards the fire and he easily took the skillet from her slack hand and nudged her out of the way. "And you are?" He asked mildly as he slapped the skillet lightly down on Calcifer's head and looked towards her.

She had to think of something fast. "You can call me Grandma Sophie." She said pointedly, looking away with a huff. He certainly was more brusque than she remembered. Perhaps it was the old face that had thrown him off, since now he no longer wanted to eat her heart. An idea to keep her deal with Calcifer popped into her head and she threw a bit of caution to the wind. "I'm your new cleaning lady."

He selected two eggs and cracked one easily with one hand. "Really? I don't recall hiring you."

Sophie glanced towards the younger of the two and saw he was cleaning a few dishes in a rather questionable sink. "Calcifer did. He's sick and tired of this place looking like a pig sty." She said feeling a little bad for the lie, but she had promised Calcifer that she would stay to help him, but that didn't involve that she had to be completely honest with this wizard.

"Oh ho?" He asked, amusement evident in his voice. "Michael, how are those plates coming?" He asked, glancing back towards the boy who was obviously trying quite hard to ignore the drama unfolding behind him. A smirk turned up the corner of his lips.

"They're done..." The boy shifted a few stacks of papers and a few more stacks of dirty dishes went into the sink and he looked pointedly at Sophie. "I'm sorry about the mess."

The wizard began dishing out breakfast and Sophie cringed a bit as she looked at the dishes. These two men and she had quite different definitions of clean. The entire house was so covered in filth that she almost wanted to go home to Wales and get a big jug of Bleach to use on every available surface. She quietly accepted a spoon with a soft thank you.

She didn't see Howl glance at her from the corner of his eyes as though he were trying to puzzle something out about her. He couldn't pin where he'd seen the old woman sitting at the table, but he definitely recognized her from somewhere. Something about the color and shape of her eyes. Something about them made the space where his heart had once been tingle a bit. He chalked it to phantom limb pain and continued to serve the breakfast.

"I suppose..." He said, his voice so even, it even surprised him. "That if Calcifer hired you, you can stay." Besides, until he figured out how he knew her, he didn't want her out of his sight, wandering this world aimlessly.

There were two startled gasps, neither of which came from the old woman. Howl glanced at Michael then Calcifer. Both were staring at him in complete shock and he arched an eyebrow upon seeing the rather pleased kind of shock that Calcifer had. Hmm. It would appear that his new cleaning lady and his friend had something going on between them. Interesting.

Breakfast was eaten in general silence, but Howl was a bit busy thinking about the things he'd recently learned from around Ingary and in Wales. The Witch of the Waste was getting more and more bold in her search for him, and as of yet, he'd been unable to find that little mousy of a target he' let on the roof of Cesari's.

That thought caused him to pause and he discretely looked towards the old woman who sat at his table. Shock settled into the pit of his stomach when he realized that was how he recognized those eyes. They were quite nearly identical in shape and color. The voice sounded familiar as well, now although more raw from age. He glanced towards Calcifer who was looking at him warily and it all clicked quite suddenly. He stood, taking his unfinished breakfast towards the fireplace. "Open wide, Calcifer..." He said, smiling slightly.

Calcifer did as he was told and hummed happily when the remaining bacon and eggs were slid into his mouth.

Howl looked down at his friend while the demon cheerfully chewed the remains of his barely touched breakfast and felt the cogs in his brain turning rapidly. "And heat some water for my bath."

He felt all eyes on him as he headed up the stairs, not looking back. She could be a mother, or a grandmother with that face, but something about her said that this 'Grandma Sophie' was the same girl he'd helped in Wales. He entered the bathroom and filled the tub quickly, completely forgoing any scented bubbles, instead, stripping quickly and immersing himself in the water. He desperately needed time to think and clear his mind of the cluttered thoughts that were presently bombarding his brain.

Now that he could think clearly, he could remember the slight wavering of the curse placed on the girl. He couldn't see completely through it, but he could tell that it was a mask that she was wearing, and not her actual face. And knowing her name brought to mind the last girl he'd started a relationship with, who he incidentally hadn't seen in the week since he'd met the girl in Wales. It didn't matter, really, the relationship was not going anywhere.

A girl named Lettie Hatter. A girl who'd wandered quite incidentally into Ingary while looking for her way, and wound up under the tutelage of Mrs Fairfax, a fellow student of Mrs Pentstemmon, who had instructed both Howl and his friend Suliman in magic. She too, had turned out to be from Wales and often spoke of her meek sister, Sophie, who had ginger-colored hair and blue-green eyes. But there was nothing meek about the woman in his kitchen.

He could still remember the little mouse quite clearly. Her shyness was quite sweet, but when he put this gutsy woman beside her, he decided quite quickly he liked this one more. This one wasn't afraid.

It would take some investigation on his part, but he was going to find out for certain if this was in fact the girl he'd set down on the roof. He would check the Hatter shop in Wales, and go see Lettie once again. Perhaps she would have some insight into this person who was now his house mate. Then, when he was certain of her identity, he would confront Calcifer.

Because he didn't like it when his friend plotted things behind his back. It usually got them into trouble.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sophie relaxed when Howl left the room. She assumed it meant her identity was still safe from him, so he'd have no interest in her heart. Then she jumped when there was an abrupt knocking at the door.

"Porthaven!" Calcifer cried and she watched as Michael jumped up.

The young man cracked open the door and peered out, then relaxed. She noted that the knob had been turned towards the blue dot. Intriguing. Through the door, she could see bright blue water outside, and hear the sound of gulls.

"Oh, does your dad need more of that brew?" Michael asked. "Just a second..." He went over to the table and started shifting things around, eventually finding a small square of folded cloth. "There it is..." He hurried back to the door and handed it out.

"Thank you, Mr. Fisher...And thank Sorcerer Jenkins for us." The young ladies voice said.

"Certainly will." The boy seemed to pause. "No, Jenkins said payment was already taken care of."

Sophie frowned. "There's another wizard living here?" She asked Calcifer, arching an eyebrow in interest. When the door was shut, she looked towards Michael, who snorted.

"Howl is Jenkins the Sorcerer when we're doing business in Porthaven." Michael said, digging through a stack of papers to find one of the transport spells he was supposed to be working on. "When we're in Kingsbury, he's the Wizard Pendragon. Market Chipping knows him as Howl the Wizard or Horrible Howl." The young man said, sitting down with such a flop that he kicked up a layer of dust.

Sophie cringed a bit. This was going to take weeks to clean. Maybe a month. Good grief. Had no one ever taught these two men how to pick up after themselves?

"And as I was saying before he came waltzing in after a night of courting god only knows who in Wales, he's lazy."

She couldn't stop herself from speaking. "He isn't the only one."

Michael flushed. "It's not so much laziness on my part..." He muttered, hiding his face in the paper. "I'm trying a passive aggressive approach to see if he'll do anything. It hasn't worked yet. The bathroom's getting disgusting. I don't know how he can stand to bathe in there."

Sophie looked at all the dirty dishes and rolled up her sleeves. "Well, since it sounds like Howl has stopped using the water, I'll start." She looked towards Calcifer and gave him a sweet look, which made the illusion waver, which caused Michael to drop the papers he was holding in shock. "Calcifer, would you mind heating some water so I can clean the dishes?"

Michael looked at the fire demon, expecting the usual string of objections and was even more shocked to find the fire demon with two pink spots on his green cheeks. He almost fell out of his chair when the demon answered.

"Okay, Sophie."

Sophie smiled pleased and moved over to the sink, staring down into it with a sigh. This was no place to clean dishes just yet. So she found a relatively clean rag which she suspected had been used to clean the morning's dishes with and turned on the hot water. She made quick work of the sink after piling the dirty dishes beside it on the small wooden counter.

After the sink was clean, she filled it with soap and water, beginning to put dishes into it to soak. She mopped down the counter so it was tidy when the dishes were done and they'd have a place to dry. The entire time she worked, she sensed four eyes watching her back. How odd.

A sigh escaped her and she began singing a song she remembered from High school that didn't really have anything to do with where it was sung. She'd learned it specifically for going to a local Rugby game, when her father was still alive, since he'd been a rather avid fan of the sport. It was really the last thing her father had ever taught her. She managed to tune out everything else, and everyone else in the room, until she noticed two voices humming along with her singing. She glanced back, seeing Calcifer's head bobbing to the tune and Michael now hunched over the papers.

Where had they heard this?

Her question was answered when Howl appeared at the top of the stairs, dressed in a blue and silver suit, singing the last verse of the song cheerfully. Apparently, whatever had been bothering him prior to his bath had been sorted out and the wizard was in a very good mood.

Everyone in the room watched as he walked to the door, flipped it to green with a flourish and disappeared into the hills above Market Chipping. "He certainly looks pleased with himself." She said evenly.

Calcifer nodded, slightly troubled. He held Howl's heart. He could feel it pounding with the Wizard's excitement. Something told him that this was not a good thing. Especially since Howl looked clear-sighted for the first time in days. He glanced towards where Sophie had her hands in the hot water, that long, unkempt silvery-white braid hanging down her back. And silently, he prayed that Howl hadn't figured out within two hours that this old woman wasn't actually an old woman at all.

0o0o0o0o0o0

_AN: Okay, so chapter one had no reviews. So either it sucked and no one wants to insult me, or it was good and people are just not leaving reviews. Either way, I'd really like to know what SOMEONE thinks, otherwise, this will just get lumped into the eight million other stories I've written and never finished. Yeah, I know, there are only two here. There's actually a reason for that (who knew?). I write under another name here on and I am rather curious if anyone would read my work if they weren't actually watching me. Well, if that's a no, I suppose I'll just finish up my fanworks on the other name and quit writing it. No point if the only reason people open them is because it has that name attached. So, if you DO like this story, and WOULD like to read more, let me know, and if you can swing it, let me know WHY. If not, well, it might die right here. Or maybe I'll just post it under my other name._

_AN (EDIT): Sorry about the previous rant. I'm merely frustrated. I don't mean to vent such frustrations at my readers. The baby was crying and I'm sleep deprived so...anyways, disregard._


	3. Chapter 3

_AN: I've never written for Howl's Moving Castle before, so please be gentle. I'm not entirely certain if this is going to have more points from the Anime or from the Book, but who knows. It's AU, but have pity on me. Once again, this is a first time thing, and if it goes well, I'll continue it. If it doesn't...well, I'll probably just leave well enough alone._

**Disclaimer: I dun own Howl, Sophie, or their castle. Please don't sue me, I have mouths to feed.**

Mist and Mysteries

By: Chibi-no-Oneesan

Chapter Three

Upper Folding was a quaint town, only slightly smaller than Market Chipping. It wasn't too far away from the other town, and so he pursued women from both towns on a regular basis. Quite fortunate for him at this point, since Upper Folding was where Lettie Hatter was apprentice to Mrs. Fairfax. He walked down the drive, considering his plan for drawing information about 'Grandma' Sophie out of the unsuspecting young lady, humming merrily. He could see the older witch tending her lovely garden, a peaceful expression on her face.

"Why hello, Mrs. Fairfax, what a lovely day, wouldn't you say?" He asked in a jovial manner, raising his hand in a wave. He was unsurprised by the rather annoyed look he received. Of course, she would know why he was here, or at least she thought she did. She'd probably never know his real reason for coming up her drive. "Is Miss Lettie home?"

"Indeed, she is, Howl." The woman said, wearing a guarded expression. "For awhile there, I thought you'd forgotten about her. It's been awhile since you've come to visit." There was no mistaking the threat in that voice, no mistaking the way she now held the hoe she'd been using on the weeds.

He laughed a bit nervously. "I merely wish to speak to the lady for awhile."

There was the distinct sound resembling a snort from Mrs. Fairfax. "If that's what you call it..." She muttered, digging the hoe into the dirt with an exceptional amount of violence.

Howl almost flinched. Then, he caught sight of gold hair and grinned. "Why, hello, Lettie." He said, moving towards her, past the older witch giving her and her hoe a wide berth. "How are you today?"

Blue-green eyes turned towards him and now he could see more clearly the resemblance. Yes, at the very least, this girl was the sister of that meek little mouse he'd met in Wales. A fine, pale brown eyebrow arched at him from under the blond curls. Each curl was perfectly sculpted around that soft, heart-shaped face. The same wide spaced, almond shaped eyes. Her frame was slight, slender, much like her sister's. They were both attractive women.

"Hello, Howl." She said evenly.

Ah, there was the difference. She wasn't a thing like the little mouse he remembered, nor did she have the quick temper of the little old lady that now resided in his castle. "Would you like to take a walk?" He asked, gesturing towards a field a good distance from Mrs. Fairfax and her excellent hearing.

A small smile. Not a mouse's smile. A woman's smile. Idly, he wondered what his dragon of a cleaning lady would smile like. And if he could get her to smile like that. And he was already quite certain that he wanted to get her to smile. He didn't voice any of these thoughts aloud, instead, he offered his arm to the young woman and led her away from the house.

As they walked, Lettie began talking about nothing at all, the weather, how the garden was doing, her schooling, but not her family. Not yet.

Howl was a patient man, however, and he knew that eventually the subject would come up. This was why he'd enjoyed spending time with Lettie. The girl had a soothing presence. It turned out, he didn't have to wait as long as he'd thought. They stopped in a field littered with wildflowers and Lettie sat down amongst them, running her small hands over the flowers, picking a few choice specimens.

"Sophie and Martha would love it here..." She said softly, turning a flower in her hand as Howl sat beside her. She glanced towards him and smiled a bit. There was nothing expectant about that smile. It was honest, something that was rare from women here and almost non-existent in Wales.

He smiled as well. "Really?" Tell me about Sophie...he mentally asked, settling in for some details.

"Hm. Martha would love the open spaces. Plenty of room for her to run around, loads of interesting things to do, places to go. People to meet." She sniffed the flower. "She's a baker, you know? She works at Cesari's in Wales. Before I left, Sophie and I would go by once a week, on Tuesday's and pick up a cake or bread."

Howl remained silent, mentally making notes of the things she was telling him.

"I think Sophie would just enjoy the peace. She'd find a quiet place and maybe a book. She always liked books, I can't remember ever seeing her without one tucked away in her dresses. Until papa died, then money was scarce, so we sold most of them to make rent." Sadness flickered in her eyes. "I rather miss them both."

He rest a comforting hand on her shoulder. "They're closer than you'd think." He said calmly. Yes, especially Sophie, who was probably terrorizing the occupants of his castle at this very moment.

She laughed softly. "But I can't see them every day like I used to." She twirled a daisy in her hand. "Martha had a temper. Quick to anger, we always said, but Sophie..." A broad grin. "If she got upset, you knew you were in trouble. There was just something about her anger..." She shook her head. "It was a living thing." She said finally, laughing. "And she had talent..."

Silence fell over them for awhile, and Howl watched the clouds moving overhead. For the first time, he was enjoying hearing someone talk about someone other than him. How odd.

"She would talk to things. Objects, I mean." She said softly, getting a far off look in her eyes. "Hats she was working on, a dress she made me...lots of things. And the things that she'd say...it was like whatever she spoke to took her literally and would do as they were told."

That startled Howl. He looked towards her and saw a contemplative look on her face.

"You know, Fanny always thought she was crazy. She would just tell Sophie that the hat's couldn't talk back and she should stop wasting her time." A deep frown turned her lips into a frown. "Until the day Sophie lost her temper with one that she couldn't get to do what she wanted. She exclaimed it was useless and would never sell, anyways."

"And?" He asked, leaning back on his elbows as he contemplated this new information.

"It didn't sell." She said quietly.

"Was it ugly, then?" He prompted further, his mind racing. He was definitely going to need another bath, later tonight. It sounded to him like she might have a special talent no one knew about. Possibly not even Sophie.

Lettie laughed. "Sophie doesn't make ugly hats. Her hats were some of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen, but..." Her brow creased. "It just didn't sell. People would look at it, admire it, but no one bought it." She went quiet for a bit. "Sophie never said that to another hat."

Ah, so she realized that she'd done something, but she didn't know what. Perhaps his little Sophie really did believe in magic. He would have paid anything to see her reaction when she realized she was an old lady.

Howl paused, his eyes widening. Lettie had sunk into silence, which was fine with him. His mind was too busy racing at what he'd just thought. _His_ Sophie? Where the hell had that come from? Like he had or wanted any claim over that girl. He seemed to recall promising himself that he would purge her from his thoughts. Yet, she'd never left at all.

He could still pull the image of her soft, meek smile and the rosy color of her blush to his mind's eye easily.

He was jostled from his thoughts when Lettie leaned her head on his shoulder. "Thanks for listening, Howl. You're a great friend." She said softly.

Those words stilled him. He chuckled softly, shaking his head. A friend? There was a first. Lettie would have to be the first girl he'd ever met who had claimed him as a friend rather than a lover. And oddly, he didn't mind. It didn't wound his ego at all. "Let's get you back to Mrs. Fairfax, before she comes looking, wondering if I've made a meal out of your heart." He teased lightly, jumping to his feet and offering her a hand.

Lettie laughed, taking his hand and letting him pull her easily to her feet. "Why did you start that horrible rumor, anyways?"

"I like my privacy." He said easily.

"Obviously." She said, her tone slightly condescending.

He chuckled slightly. "Be careful, miss Lettie, or I might start to think you're jealous."

A snort escaped her. "Howl Jenkins, I'm not like those other girl's you've started your little flings with." She said bluntly and looked him dead in the eyes. "I'm not so stupid as to delude myself into thinking that you love me or I'll be the one to change your..."

"Philandering ways?" He offered.

"Precisely." She huffed. They walked in silence for awhile, the sun having already begun it's descent in the sky as they approached Mrs. Fairfax's home. Before they got close, Lettie stopped, turning towards him fully, a rather sad look on her face.

Howl saw the expression and his eyes widened. "Lettie...?" He asked softly.

She seemed to be struggling with something. Finally, she lifted her gaze, her expression now peaceful. "I hope, for your sake, you find someone that you can really care for, Howl." She said softly. "You're a good man, Howl; a good person. I hope you find someone you'd be willing to give your heart to."

His gaze softened and he cupped her face gently. "You're a nice girl, Lettie." He said softly, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss against her forehead. "But I don't have a heart to give." He withdrew and released her, backing away a step. "Go on, I think I hear Mrs. Fairfax searching for her largest skillet." He teased lightly, standing still.

Lettie gave him a concerned glance, then headed back to the house, leaving him standing alone on the field. He watched her go, and when she disappeared into the back door, he turned his face into the slight breeze. He wondered if she was even aware of the power she'd used when she'd spoken those words to him. Just the faintest magic embedded into the words, turning the statement into something more. It was subtle, incredibly subtle. Words and emotion laced with enough intention that magic leaked from behind the barriers and turned it into a spell.

He turned his head and saw his castle looming against the darkening sky. Now, what to do about the curse on that little mouse...

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The room was at least somewhat presentable.

Sophie collapsed into a chair, understanding what the elderly spoke of when they talked about arthritic joints and pain that wouldn't disappear. It was only those two things that made her stop. She sat in front of Calcifer's roaring fire and rubbed her ancient hands together. "What a way to spend the day." She said softly. "I'll be glad when this is done..."

"The cleaning or the curse?" Calcifer quipped. More of her untidy hair had fallen out of it's braid, the silver framing her face like green mist as it reflected the color of his fire. She actually looked older than when she'd come wandering in the night before.

She gave him a tired smile. It barely wavered the illusion. "Both, actually." She mumbled softly.

"But if your curse was broken, you could just leave." He pointed out.

Sophie didn't answer, and for awhile, Calcifer thought she had fallen asleep. He glanced at her face and saw her staring out the window looking over Kingsbury. "I would still have to help you break the contract." She pointed out, not looking at him. "But regardless, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't tell him about my curse." She looked towards the fire demon, smiling faintly. "I wouldn't want my heart eaten." She glanced towards the door.

Calcifer couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. "I wasn't planning to tell him a damn thing..." He mumbled. "Believe it or not, Howl has more to fear from you than you do from him."

She looked towards him, raising an eyebrow. "Oh?"

He noticed the baffled expression on her face and he frowned. "He's not used to being told 'No'."

She laughed, her face lighting up. In that instant, she went from Grandma Sophie to just Sophie. But she couldn't know that. She wasn't looking at a mirror. Calcifer, however saw it plain as day. Her hair darkened from the Silver to a ginger color, the lines disappeared and her face glowed with delight. When her laughter finally died down, the illusion wavered back into place. "You are a great friend, Calcifer." She said softly, leaning forward and placing a small kiss just above the flames on his forehead.

Calcifer blushed, then, felt something wash over him. Magic. Coming from Sophie. His eyes snapped wide and he looked towards her, seeing her rubbing her hands as though they ached. That tired expression was back on her face, and she seemed to be aching something fierce. "Maybe Howl can do something for the pain when he returns..." Calcifer said quietly. "I'll ask him."

Moments later, Michael rushed through the door, his face flushed slightly. "Is Howl back yet?"

"No." Sophie said calmly. She flexed her hands, wincing. Mentally, however, she was considering what she should clean next. When she looked up at Michael, she saw somewhat familiar looking prints on his face and she arched an eyebrow. Yes, on his lips, all over his face, his neck, and a bit on his collar. Lipstick smears. The color reminded her of the one that Martha always wore. "Been busy?"

He flushed dark. "I'm gonna go borrow the bathroom before Howl gets back."

"Leave the shirt." She said, smiling faintly.

He blinked. "What? Why?"

She pointed to his collar. "See for yourself."

He looked down and turned about three different shades of red all at once. "Ack!" He peeled the shirt off and handed it to her quickly, then took off up the stairs two at a time.

Sophie shook her head, taking a recently cleaned rag and soaked it alcohol. While she head the water turn off and the sounds of muttering and someone scrubbing off the make-up, she blotted the cloth gently against the fabric, watching as the lipstick stain disappeared. She folded the shirt neatly and set it on the table. She had just finished when Howl entered.

He paused at the doorway, glancing around. "Seems someone's been busy." He said, stepping over the threshold and saw Sophie moving to the chair that sat beside the fire. Her expression was one that startled him, she looked like she was in pain.

He glanced towards the fire demon, who was looking at her in concern. Then, the green eyes turned towards him and he arched an eyebrow.

Calcifer took a deep breath and started ranting. There was little heat in it, but it warmed his heart to hear it. "Howl! She's been moving around like a little tornado! She's going to put me out with all the moving she's doing!" The demon said waving his hands. "Do something!"

Sophie looked towards him, her face holding none of the shock it had when he'd entered this morning. She wasn't surprised to see him. "Good Evening, wizard Howl." She said in a neutral voice. She watched him glance around and started getting up. "I was thinking about making dinner-" Her eyes widened and a yelp escaped her lips when the hair pushed against the back of her knees, sending her back onto her backside.

"Sit down, Dragon-Lady." He teased lightly. "You've obviously worked yourself so hard you can scarcely move." He found one of the freshly cleaned skillets and a packet of ham from the basket on the table. He also took note that there was a round of cheese and fresh loaf of bread sitting on it as well. Someone certainly was a busy little bee while he was gone. "Has Michael returned from wooing his lady?"

Calcifer snorted. "Covered in lipstick, he was. Whoever that girl is, he's got his hands full."

"Indeed." Howl agreed, glancing towards Sophie, who had slumped in her hair, one arm on the fireplace, cheek on her hand. The illusion wavered massively as she slept, he noticed. Yet, for him, it was like trying to look at someone through a dense fog. He still couldn't get past it.

"Howl...couldn't you do something for her? She's in a lot of pain." Calcifer said quietly. He saw the faint amusement in Howl's eyes and managed to keep his cheeks from turning red.

"Indeed. But why would a curse make her hurt..." He mused aloud.

Calcifer stared in dumb shock at the wizard, who was looking at him knowingly. Well, in his defense, he hadn't told the lecher. "So you know." He said blandly. "How long?" The demon asked, pretending like it didn't matter.

"This morning." Howl said calmly. He smiled gently at the fire demon. "You can relax, Calcifer. I'm not interested in eating her heart. I would likely choke me with it's goodness, anyways." He walked over and gently pushed a few strands of hair from her face, putting a little power into the stroke. It ought to have wiped the curse away easily, but the elderly face remained. He hummed quietly. Interesting. "That should take care of her pain, but don't complain if she terrorizes you tomorrow."

Calcifer blushed, snorting. "Right. You're the one that should worry. She's going to get to your room eventually and she'll probably find that stash of porn you keep under your bed."

Howl smirked. It was an old joke. "Now Calcifer, you know that's not mine." He said, then turned back to preparing the simple meal.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

While she slept, Sophie dreamed.

She dreamed of her sisters, Lettie and Martha coming to the castle. Michael was there. Howl was not. Calcifer seemed tense. "Calcifer, are you alright?" She asked softly, reaching towards him.

A hand wrapped around something at Calcifer's feet, and she could see an expression of pain on the fire demon's face. A cry of pain came from the doorway and she turned, seeing Howl fall to the floor. She looked towards the person who held Calcifer and realized idly that what was happening in the dream was important. It was a woman, but at the same time, not. She realized the woman's hair had turned to flames and saw that what was clutched in the woman's hand was a heart.

Howl's heart.

She wasn't sure why she knew that, but she knew it was important to get that heart away from her. Otherwise, Howl and Calcifer would die.

She lunged towards the woman, her hands twisted into claws...

And Sophie fell out of the chair.

Calcifer snorted in his sleep, almost startling awake. Then, he settled back down, mumbling something about saucepans and not meaning to singe Howl's suit.

Sophie took a steadying breath, trying to remember the dream. But like always, holding a dream was like trying to catch water in a rusty pail. The more you try to hold, the faster it slips away. She sat slowly, and something slid from her shoulders, puddling beside her. She blinked, sitting fully and looking at what sat beside her. She was startled to find that it was a blanket.

Her brow creased and she touched the soft wool with a wrinkled hand. Who would have done such a thing?

She didn't remember falling asleep, but she was reasonably sure she hadn't eaten dinner before hand. Hunger gnawed at her stomach and she sighed softly. She eased off the floor, suspecting that her muscles would scream in protest, and was more than mildly surprised to find that her aches had eased dramatically. A quick glance at the window told her that dawn was approaching slowly, so she moved about quietly, slicing a thick slab of bread and a few thinner slices of cheese. She nibbled the meal and stared out the window, watching the sun rise over the hills.

This place was very different than Wales. Magic was so commonplace. It was like stepping out of reality and into a fairy tale. Here she sat in a castle, a real, honest to god castle. And not just any castle. A moving castle. If she ever penned down the events that went on here, she'd have a best selling children's story on her hands.

Funny how growing old can cause such changes in one's life.

She was living in a castle, with a wizard who ate hearts, his apprentice, and a fire demon. And oddly enough, she felt less threatened in the company of these three males than she did in her own apartment. It was as though she'd stepped out of a terrible reality and into a beautiful fantasy. A fantasy where there was no danger.

No physical danger, anyways. She frowned, considering her dream. Mental danger however might well be another story. Especially since her heart did a little flip whenever she noticed Howl in the room. Especially since it took a great deal of control to keep from yelling at him for...something. She wasn't even really sure most of the time why she wanted to yell at him. Yet, more often than not, she felt the urge to tell him that everything was his fault: Why she was like this, why she was so far from home.

But really, could she blame him for anything?

Sure, he may eat hearts, but he hadn't tried to eat hers when he left her on that rooftop. In fact, he'd been very kind, charming even. It wasn't often that someone tried charm on her. He'd given her a few moments where she felt like she hadn't a care in the world, and then he'd left.

Idly, she wondered if being in love would feel like that as well.

She nibbled her cheese sandwich, huffing slightly. What on earth was she thinking about love for? No one would fall in love with a woman old enough to be their grandmother. What she really should do is lump his lazy, pushy, rude backside into the same pot as Calcifer.

A friend.

She smiled slightly, then dashed that thought as well. She might be able to be friends with Michael, but Howl would never let someone get that close to his heart. And love? Never. That thought saddened her a bit. Maybe she was reading too far into someone she barely knew, but Howl seemed to be good at heart. And everyone should be loved by someone.

But Howl would likely never really taste love.

Rather like herself.

Not that she didn't love anyone. She loved and was loved by her sisters. Her father loved her and her step mother had a kind of affection for her as well, but she wasn't talking about familial love. That kind of love is obligatory. You have to love them because they're your family.

She was talking about a true love.

The kind where you close your eyes and let go and let yourself fall, not knowing if the other person would catch you or not-

"You're up awfully early, Sophie."

The sound of Howl's voice made her jump clear out of her skin and she looked towards him, feeling almost guilty. "Good morning." She said quietly. She didn't want to disturb Calcifer's sleep. She turned back, watching the window, trying to ignore the fact that the wizard was watching her quite intently. She didn't want to blush, but she could feel one rising to her cheeks regardless. It wasn't her fault.

He was an attractive man.

"You seem to have settled well."

"Well enough." She answered, taking another bite of her sandwich. Being near him made her feel somehow older, less attractive. Like the world was taking a break on her shoulders. "Calcifer and Michael are nice enough." She purposely didn't add him into the equation.

There was a long pause. It would appear he had noticed the lack of himself mentioned and was waiting for her to say her impressions of him. When she refused to continue, he did. "You also seem rather determined to terrorize the occupants of this house until it is up to your..." He made a big show of looking at all the now dust free surfaces. "Rather high standards."

She made a quarter turn, glancing at him from the corner of her eyes. She was not amused. In fact, she was pretty sure a slight frown was turning down the corners of her lips.

He stared around the room, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Where on earth did you get the hot water to do all those dishes anyways?"

"Calcifer heated it for me." She said pointedly.

"Rather obedient of him." He said in amusement.

She huffed, finally standing. "I actually asked him. You should try it sometime." She went to the cabinet she'd stored the pans in and threw the handle, filling it with cold water. She needed tea. Chamomile or Lavender to soothe her nerves, which were already jumping like crazy due to his close proximity to her in the room. When the pot was filled with cold water, she walked over to Calcifer. "Sorry, Calcifer." She said, waking him gently. "I wanted to make some tea..."

He mumbled something and lowered his head, letting her set the pot easily down on him.

"Impressive." That damnable amused tone was still lacing his voice. It made her want to throttle him. "You certainly catch more bees with honey, don't you, Sophie? Perhaps I should talk to you when I want water for my baths."

She whirled on him. "Calcifer is as much a person as you or Michael." She growled at him. "And you treat him like a beast of burden. At least he behaves as though he has a heart, unlike you, who wouldn't know kindness if it slapped you in the face!"

Howl stared at her through gradually widening eyes. Then, his brow creased in irritation. Yes, he preferred the mouse, he decided, then stood up. "Are you saying I'm heartless?" He snapped, not noting the irony in his question until Calcifer piped up from the fireplace.

"Yes, and from where I'm sitting, so is Sophie, since she woke me and your yelling has woken Michael from the sound of his cursing..." The fire demon muttered sleepily.

True enough, Michael came down seconds later, finding himself staring at two seething people, who were glaring at each other with enough hate that it had to be labeled a kind of violent affection.

"If you actually had one of your own, would you need to eat the hearts of other people?!" Sophie yelled at Howl, whose face was livid with fury. "All you ever do is run around all day and make other people do work while you primp in that disgusting bathroom! When was the last time you actually did an ounce of honest work?!"

Michael had the distinct impression that Sophie did not realize that the face she was displaying right then was not old at all. It was young and fresh and furious. And familiar. Good lord. "You know, miss Sophie, that whole eating hearts thing...is just a bunch of crap." He said, walking down the stairs, interrupting Howl who was about to live up to his name and start screaming the turrets down around them. "We started it to keep people from nosing around the castle."

Sophie stared at him as he walked between them, then looked to Calcifer, who was looking away guiltily, and Howl, who was still wearing that furious expression. "So...you don't actually eat hearts?"

"No, he just breaks a lot of them." Calcifer said a bit nastily. Then he cursed. "Sorry, Howl." He said, glancing towards his friend.

Howl looked at each of them, his eyes lingering on Sophie's rapidly aging face. Yes, for a short while, she'd been young again. And there was no mistaking that face. It took several deep, cleansing breaths to calm down enough that he wouldn't cast something potentially dangerous. "You can stay and clean to your little hearts content, Miss Sophie. Just stay out of the yard and my room and there will be no problems. And don't kill any of the spiders." He said then looked at Calcifer. "Heat some water for my bath." He didn't soften it into a request. He wasn't feeling very generous at the moment. In fact, once he had finished, he started walking up the stairs, ignoring the sounds of the fire demon moaning in the fireplace.

If he could make enough water that Sophie could clean, the little backstabber could damn well fill a bathtub.

Meanwhile, Sophie looked towards Michael, immediately feeling guilty. "I'm very sorry. We didn't mean to wake you..."

"Water's hot." Calcifer warned.

She automatically pulled it off Calcifer's head and found one of the brews laying around for headaches and poured it into the cup, then topped off with water. Lavender floated up to her and she relaxed a little. She would have to apologize to Howl later. She couldn't understand why she'd gotten so angry, but there was something about him that pushed all of her buttons at once.

Maybe it was that voice, or the charm, or even the fact that he didn't seem to realize who she was.

But she found that she could rarely look him in the face without feeling something strange inside her. She desperately wanted to see her sister, but they wouldn't know it was her while she looked like this. She needed desperately to speak to someone who would understand, would help translate these turbulent feelings inside her.

She sighed softly, and lifted her tea to take a sip. Immediately, she gagged and looked suspiciously into the pot and the cup. With a sigh, she poured both down the sink. Sometimes, it just didn't pay to fall out of your chair in the morning...

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_AN: Wow...so, another chapter gone. I really wasn't planning that fight between Sophie and Howl. It just sort of happened organically. Anyways, a little shout out to those who have reviewed..._

_Skia-Thankies for being my first reviewer under this name. I sent you a message with the other name in it. Yeah, Castle in the Sky is Diana Wynn Jones sequel to Howl's Moving Castle. I haven't read it yet, and only recently learned it existed (God Bless Wilkipedia, it has wonderful information)._

_Serenamoonrose-Thankies for the review, and here's another chapter._

_Laurashrub-Thankies for the review, and for my very first death threat. Hope this chapter didn't disappoint!_


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: I've never written for Howl's Moving Castle before, so please be gentle. I'm not entirely certain if this is going to have more points from the Anime or from the Book, but who knows. It's AU, but have pity on me. Once again, this is a first time thing, and if it goes well, I'll continue it. If it doesn't...well, I'll probably just leave well enough alone._

**Disclaimer: I dun own Howl, Sophie, or their castle. Please don't sue me, I have mouths to feed.**

Mist and Mysteries

By: Chibi-no-Oneesan

Chapter Four

Over the next week, Sophie terrorized Calcifer and Michael alike, brutally cleaning her way through the entire castle. She spent three days on the bathroom. On days when it rained, she whitewashed the walls and ceilings. However, it was rather evident to the other two occupants in the castle that Sophie and Howl were avoiding each other like the plague.

It was extremely uncomfortable during the end of the week, when Howl had decided to give chasing whatever girl he was courting in Upper Folding a reprieve. Sophie and Howl spoke fewer words to each other than meals they ate.

Michael had taken to visiting Martha during the day to avoid the uncomfortable living environment of the castle.

Which stuck Calcifer to play referee.

"You two are worse than a married couple." Calcifer said to Howl one day. The wizard forgave his long-time friend much easier than he forgave this woman/girl who seemed to have him on edge all the time.

Howl glared at Calcifer, whose head was currently bent under a pot of boiling water. "You're my friend, aren't you supposed to be siding with me?" He asked, letting out a huff of annoyance.

"I'm her friend to, and she asks for things nicely." Calcifer stuck his tongue out to emphasize his point. "Why are you two so snippy with each other, anyways?"

The wizard dare not answer that question. Especially when he didn't know the answer himself. He rarely got annoyed with anyone, and yet this mouse turned dragon managed to get under his skin in all the worse ways. "She said I was heartless." He mumbled, frowning. "Do you think she's figured out our contract?"

"I don't think she was speaking literally." The fire demon pointed out. "You do tend to pick on her a lot, as well as me, and I really think you just pushed her too far that day. You know, she made the water undrinkable?"

Howl paused, looking down at Calcifer. "She what?"

Sophie swept into the room at that point from her small alcove, saw Howl standing by the stove and froze, then stiffly strode across the room, threw the door knob to green and strode outside. Both Howl and Calcifer watched her go, and the wizard shook his head. "I see what Lettie meant." Howl muttered. "That girl's anger _is_ a living thing..."

"Lettie?"

When Howl realized he'd spoken aloud, he mentally cursed himself. That was a little something he'd been keeping to himself. "Lettie Hatter. Our Dragon-Lady's younger sister." He poured some oatmeal into the water and stirred it, sighing heavily. "Turns out, they're from Wales. Interesting, isn't it."

"Wait a minute...you've been seeing her _sister_ all this time?!" Calcifer jumped up, almost knocking the pot off the stove. "Sophie is going to kill you."

Howl smiled a bit. "That thought has occurred to me, of course. Lettie and I are not involved. She considers me a friend and I..." He pondered how to put this delicately. "Am getting valuable information." He said finally, getting one of the clean tea cups down and finding some of the English Breakfast Tea he 'imported' from Wales.

Calcifer was staring at him. He could feel the fire demon's gaze on his back as he prepared his tea. He'd just taken the first sip when he spoke. "Are you falling for Sophie?"

The blunt question caused the tea in Howl's mouth to spray out and across the room. Painfully slowly, he set the cup on the table and turned towards the fireplace. "Excuse me?" Howl asked evenly, as though he hadn't bathed several spells both he and Michael were working on with tea.

Calcifer leaned towards him, a suspicious expression on his face. "Are you falling in love with Sophie, Howell Jenkins?"

Use of his given name caused him go swallow uncomfortably. "Don't be ridiculous, Calcifer. You know I don't have a heart." He said calmly. Then, he found a rag and mopped up the mess he'd made. Better that Sophie didn't see the mess he'd made when she returned. They were having enough trouble living in the same castle and not tearing each other's throats out.

Calcifer watched with distinct interest as Howl cleaned his mess. This was not typical behavior for Howl. Then again, Howl had been acting rather suspicious for about two weeks, since a particular foray into Wales on May Day. The fire demon kept his observations to himself, however, sensing a great deal of turmoil in the heart he held. It was as if Howl was unfamiliar with whatever it was he _was_ feeling, and it was making him snippy.

Howl had always kept his heart carefully guarded, it was part of the reason they'd wound up with this contract. Howl offered to keep Calcifer alive in the way that humans lived. Howl seemed to think it would keep his heart guarded and safe. He thought he'd given up his ability to feel.

He was pretty daft for someone so intelligent.

Howl had settled down to work on some papers when Sophie reentered, looking old as ever.

Both Howl and Calcifer had noticed she hadn't shown her young face since the day of their argument. They had even discussed it quietly, trying to figure out why none of Howl's attempts to counter the curse seemed to be working. Calcifer had come to the conclusion that it was that Sophie was hanging onto that old face the same way Howl hung to the contract. It was a form of protection. It protected her from something.

She noticed Howl leaned over the table and turned towards Calcifer, who was looking at her expectantly. She moved over and saw the pot of oatmeal now burnt, still sitting on the fire demon's head. She sighed in impatience, wrapping her hand around the pot handle and lifting it off the poor over-worked demon's head.

"Are you two ever going to talk to each other again?" the fire demon asked impatiently.

Sophie walked to the fire, feeling two sets of eyes on her back. The cross voice of the demon made her cringe a bit and for the first time since she'd been cursed, she felt like a mouse again. She felt even more like a shriveled old woman. She turned towards Howl, her face neutral. He was looking at her with an equally neutral expression, as if not certain what he should expect. "I'm sorry I called you heartless." She said quietly. "It was quite rude of me." Then she turned back towards the dish.

Howl looked towards Calcifer and saw him looking at him with a scowl. He gulped and knew that if amends were not made on his part as well, his share of dinner would be burnt each night. "You weren't the only one who made an ass of themselves." He conceded. He heard her movements still and focused on the transport spell in front of him. He glanced up and saw her eying him with a wary expression from the corner of her eyes. "I'll make a deal with you, Sophie." He said, lacing his fingers together and arching an eyebrow. "I will attempt to be more polite if you will."

She returned her gaze to the sink. She wasn't certain how she was supposed to answer that. "Usually I'm very polite." She mumbled, chewing on her lower lip. Yes, she certainly felt like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. Her joints were aching and she was pretty certain that she head a bad case of indigestion.

"Is it a deal?"

The sound of his voice made her turn back towards him slightly. He was watching her closely. She schooled her expression, hoping that he wouldn't notice how much pain she was really in. "Fine." She said quietly. Then, she turned back to the sink.

Howl watched her back, noting she was hunched slightly in on herself. Damn, the woman was infuriating. When she wasn't playing Dragon-Lady, she slipped back into her Mouse mask and it seemed she was refusing to let anyone know her. Not that he had any room to talk. Calcifer knew him, but Calcifer held his heart. Michael only knew what Howl let him know and Sophie...

She was Sophie.

He shuffled the papers, stacking them on the corner of the table and walked past her, resting a hand on her shoulder. He eased some magic into the grasp, knowing it would ease the physical discomforts she was trying to hide. "Fine." He agreed, then turned towards Calcifer.

The fire demon was looking at him, wearing a suspicious expression. He returned his hand to his side and gave Calcifer a look that told him of the dark evil things he'd do to him if the demon said a word. "Would it be too much trouble for you to heat some water?" He managed to bite out. God, this deal was going to choke him. He'd have to start taking baths before she got up or after she'd gone out for a walk or something so she wouldn't hear him order the demon.

Calcifer sneered. He could say no. He could easily say no. But blue-green eyes turned towards him from the sink and he cursed. If he treated Sophie nice when she asked politely, he'd have to do the same for Howl. "Yeah, yeah. Right on it." the fire demon muttered, seeing Howl smirk at him. The bastard would know the mental struggle he was having.

It was with a definite spring in his step that Howl disappeared up the stairs.

When Sophie had finished the dishes, she pulled out a scarlet and gray suit she was darning and began to work, sitting close by. "I still don't know what connects you and Howl." She said, a bit guiltily.

He sighed. "I wasn't expecting you to get it right away." The demon confessed. "I can't tell you right off, but I'll drop some hints." Have been anyways, he thought darkly. He looked towards her and saw Sophie looking out the window, a far-off look in her eyes. "Hey, you okay?" He noticed her rubbing her chest a little.

"Just some indigestion..." She said in a distracted manner. Yet, there was a look in her eyes that said she was feeling older than usual.

Calcifer saddened a bit, wondering if Howl realized that she was the main reason he couldn't usually see past the illusion and why he couldn't break the spell himself.

And he couldn't tell Howl either.

Because he'd promised Sophie not to tell Howl the nature of her curse.

Dammit all.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Howl looked at himself in the mirror and sighed. He didn't know what to do about that woman. She was about as stubborn as a midsummer day was long. And she seemed to be able to hold a grudge forever and about two extra weeks. Then again, if she felt a fraction of the tension when he was around that he did when she was, it wasn't a big surprise that she was going to get a tad bit bitchy.

Upon inspection of his roots, he noticed that there was a faint tinge of black developing close to his scalp and he sighed. He reached towards his trusty hair bleach and began to apply it.

By the time he was finished bathing, it should have removed that pesky black color.

So, he rinsed his hair with it and went over to the tub, climbing in among the scented bubbles. He had to admit, having Sophie around had it's benefits. First, the bathroom was clean for the first time in almost two months. In addition, he knew that she was safe from the Witch of the Waste. Cursed, but safe still.

From the information he'd managed to gather from Lettie, the girl always had a temper, but usually kept it tightly leashed. It took a lot to set Sophie off. She was the calm one, the rational one. The practical one.

Yes, he had certainly gotten that impression from her. He was also beginning to think she had a severe case of obsessive compulsive disorder, which had never been dealt with. He'd also observed that she seemed obsessed with keeping herself busy. When she wasn't cleaning, she was darning something. She'd also managed to find a stash of money he didn't know about and would go to Market Chipping to buy food, and during one trip, she arrived back with a bag of yarn and knitting needles.

During one of the mornings she'd been cleaning the bathroom, he'd decided to snoop and found she was in fact knitting something, but down at the bottom of the bag was a worn copy of Gulliver's Travels, which had somehow made it's way into Ingary.

It had made him smile.

During the days they weren't speaking, he'd spent his time quietly observing her, trying to understand what it was about her that made his skin itch. He was even more confused now than he had been before. It was like his guard was always down around her, like his control over himself and his life was slipping.

That troubled him greatly.

He prided himself on his ability to control whatever situation he was in, and took great pleasure in manipulating his way out of distasteful ones. This one was bordering on distasteful. But for some reason, he couldn't find it in himself to kick her out of the castle, and he found he was starting to enjoy the verbal and emotional confrontations. So, he'd either gone entirely mental, or he'd managed to get his heart back, because if he didn't know better, he'd be convinced he was falling in love with Sophie Hatter.

His eyes widened and he sat abruptly in the water.

Love?

That wasn't possible. Calcifer had a good grasp on his heart at all times, so he should be able to feel something like love. He shouldn't be able to feel love or hate or anything even resembling an emotion anywhere near that strong.

Yet...

He took a steadying breath, shaking his head. "No, there's a different explanation. There has to be..." He said, sinking back into the water. There had to be a different reason that he was starting to not notice so much that she looked like an old woman. There had to be a different reason that he was starting to see the face behind the illusion when the illusion hadn't wavered. A different reasons for the butterflies in his stomach whenever she walked into the room, whether he was annoyed with her or not.

Shit.

Howl sunk lower into the water, down to his nose, horrified. This shouldn't be possible. It couldn't be possible. But why else would these things be happening? It made perfectly horrible sense. He had never felt anywhere near this much irritation or frustration with any other woman he'd been with. He didn't compromise with them and when they started expecting him to, he'd walk away from them.

The idea of walking away from Sophie disgusted him.

"I think I'd like to die here and now..." He muttered, putting his face in his hands. He, the philandering wizard Howl, had fallen head over heals in love with his cleaning lady in the course of one week. One week where they'd barely spoken a word to each other. One week where if they had spoken more, they'd have likely torn the other's throat out.

With a huff, he drug himself out of the tub, wrapping a towel around his waste. Something was going to have to be done about this. But first, he was going to have to observe that girl more. He walked towards the mirror, grabbing his favorite shade of blond hair dye and looked in the mirror.

He froze.

Pink.

His hair was pink.

He looked at the bottle he'd used to bleach it and whimpered. Not bleach after all, then.

Then, Howl did the only thing that seemed logical at that point. He screamed in complete horror.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Michael had come in only a few minutes before that horrible scream echoed through the castle. It nearly gave Sophie a heart attack, and Calcifer nearly jumped clean off his embers. Michael felt a certain kind of dread and hid his face in his hands. "Dear god, what now?" He wondered.

He'd been relieved when he'd found Sophie in such a good mood upon returning from Wales, but he had a distinct feeling that that whole situation was about to go up in proverbial smoke.

He knew he should have stayed with Martha longer.

The sound of the bathroom door slamming open and shut echoed through the now silent castle, and it seemed like each footstep had been amplified to truly express Howl's fury. Feet appeared coming down the stairs and when Howl appeared it took a great deal of effort to not burst into stitches of laughter. He wasn't sure if it would be due to panic or amusement, but a look at Howl's face killed that urge.

There was an odd glazed look in his eyes.

Sophie, meanwhile, was only just managing to keep herself from blushing furiously. It was the first time she'd ever seen a man quite nearly naked as the day he was born, and Howl was an unfortunately fine specimen, with long, lean muscle and smooth, pale skin. She looked up at his face and her eyes traveled to his hair and she bit down furiously on her lip.

Howl looked down at them, seeing Calcifer wearing a worried expression, glancing from him to the only two who were able to go to the top floor. "Sophie, do you see my hair?" He asked, his voice deceptively calm. Inside, he was a volcano about to erupt. Vesuvius moments away from destroying the two cities below him. His hands flexed.

"What a pretty color..." She said weakly.

Inside, he almost felt pleased that she liked the color, and even more pleased that she seemed to be having trouble keeping her eyes on his face, but then he remembered that his hair was, in fact, pink. "Pretty?! IT'S PINK!" He yelled, storming down the last few steps. "This, THIS is why I didn't let you into my room or the yard! THIS!" He grabbed fist fulls of his hair, shaking it at her. "Why, why do you have to spend so much time meddling, woman?!"

Her upper lip got that stubborn set he'd become quite familiar with lately and her back straightened. "I was just organizing it. It's not like I ruined anything..."

"What do you call this?!" He cried, flopping into the seat she usually sat in on evenings. Damn her, damn her, why didn't she understand?! "It's hideous..." And by proxy, so was he, now. This was all her fault. If she'd just left well enough alone...

"It's really not that bad..." He could hear a twinge of irritation in her voice.

Only one thing he could do about this. It would have to go darker. That meant going to his original color. Dammit, he hated it. With a groan, he let his head hang to his chest, chin resting on his collarbone as he returned his hair to it's virgin, pre-dyed state. Ugly emotions welled inside him, but this time, he didn't even bother trying to stop them.

"Crap, Howl, get a grip on yourself! Hey! Stop it!" Calcifer sounded like he was going into a panic. "Sophie, make him stop!"

Sophie watched the hair darken to black and she wanted to blush. This color suited him better. Especially in his current state. "You should look now, it looks even nicer..." And not so much like straw...she thought mildly.

He seemed to fold farther in on himself as if he hadn't heard her. "What's the point in living if you can't be beautiful?" He moaned aloud, sinking deep into his dark thoughts and letting the emotional yuck rise to the surface in the form of slime. He hadn't slimed the place in awhile. It was about time for an emotional cleansing, he decided, letting go of his magic and hence his control all at once.

Why had she insisted on turning his entire life upside down?

"Come on, Howl, we can just dye it back..." Sophie heard the moan when she reached out to soothe him. Her lower lip trembled and she felt her own anger added to the mix of emotions running rampant through the room. Grief filled her and frustration bubbled up. "I've had enough of your childishness!" She yelled at him. "I hate you!"

Without another word, she spun on her heal and ran from the castle, out into the raining fields above Market Chipping. She fisted her small hands into fists and stood in the rain, tears hidden with the rain as it fell down her face. She held her wail of pain inside, staring out across the lake.

Damn him. Damn him and his emotional stupidity. He could have his little tantrums and yell at her, but she had to apologize when she yelled at him. How dare he treat her like it's all her fault. If he wasn't so vain, if he didn't dye his hair so much, if he'd read the damn label's, he wouldn't have made his hair pink.

Damn him.

"Sophie!" Michael's voice called to her. "Sophie, there's trouble!"

She turned and sighed. "What is it now?"

"The slime's going to put Calcifer out!"

It looked like she wouldn't get away just yet, anyways. With a sigh, she walked back into the castle. Damn fool of a man. The entire place was a disaster again. She had half a mind to make him clean it up this time. She grabbed a clean log from the wood pile and handed it to Calcifer, then looked towards Michael. "Go get water running in the bathroom." She said calmly. "If you wouldn't mind, Calcifer. This blazing idiot is going to need a bath..."

Calcifer looked towards her, seeing the resigned look on her face. He'd been worried that Howl had completely ruined it after things just getting better. He'd been worried that she'd run away and not come back, and considering the definite feelings of affection that everyone was starting to feel for her, that just wouldn't do. "Don't worry about it." Calcifer said calmly.

Sophie pushed the chair over towards the stairs. "Remind me, though...next time he decides to have one of these temper tantrums..." She paused, looking back at Calcifer. "That I should slap him." She gave Calcifer a warm smile and slipped her arms around Howl, helping his limp self up. He was still oozing green slime and created a snail trail as she carried him up the stairs.

The towel fell on the way and she managed to curb her curiosity and kept her eyes resolutely forward as she lugged him into the bathroom. "Not enough that you make a mess with your temper...that I'll have to clean up..." She huffed, biting her lip. "You had the nerve to make me feel like I was ugly. Your own damnable vanity caused this whole problem." She continued to mutter. "And now you don't have the guts to put your own feet under you and walk like a man..."

She found Michael waiting in the bathroom, a long scrub brush in his hand and an irritated expression on his face.

"Last time this happened was when a girl dumped him." Michael said bitingly. "He called in the spirits of darkness and slimed the place." He shook his head. "He suffers from a lot of faults, but his pride and his vanity are the two that are the worst..."

Sophie helped Michael ease him into the tub. "Don't be so hard on him, yet. It'll be better to wait until he's coherent enough to really let him have it."

It took them an hour to get him clean of the slime and another hour to coax him into a clean change of clothing, then Sophie went to work on the large quantity of green goo. She muttered dark things the entire time she was cleaning and Calcifer and Michael wisely stayed out of her way and didn't bring up Howl.

Later, when the mess was cleaned, she had time to sit down and think over a glass of warmed milk. In truth, everyone had their faults, even her. It really wasn't fair of her to blame the whole situation on him, when a fair amount of the blame rested on her narrow shoulders as well. It sounded from the stories that Michael and Calcifer told that he had a heaping helping of all seven deadly sins, but was she any better? They were both still human. As was Michael, who looked to have a helping of one or two of his own, and Calcifer was a demon.

Michael was now sitting at the table, working on a spell, and Howl was upstairs, likely still staring at the roof as he'd been when they'd left him there.

She pulled down a fresh glass and poured the remaining milk from the sauce pan into the glass, looking at Calcifer and giving him a tiny smile. "I'm going to go check on him." She said softly.

Both of the rooms other occupants looked up at her in surprise.

There were things that needed said that couldn't wait until later. Things that she needed to get off her chest and things she was certain he needed to get off his as well. She grabbed a slice of bread and cheese and set them on a plate and began walking upstairs. Everyone had their vices. Everyone had their problems. Everyone had their faults and merits in equal share. But Howl hid his protectively. She would love to see him let them shine.

Maybe that's why what he'd done had hurt so much. He'd taken a small step forward prior to his bath, and then, not an hour later, took two huge steps back. He could be nice when he wanted. She knew that. He'd been kind to her now and then. But more often than not, he behaved like a angry teenager, and she was about to do what any self-respecting grandmother or mother would do and turn him over her knee and beat some sense into him.

She took a soothing breath before knocking lightly on his bedroom door. "Howl, it's me, I'm coming in." She didn't ask. He might very well send her away, and she needed to do this before her irritation and anger gave way to the mouse that had been who she was for so long. She turned the knob and walked in.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_AN: Another chapter gone...I've been posting these furiously fast because I seem to be on a good streak with this story. Idea's popping up left and right. Sorry for the cliffy, but I really want to spend some time on Howl's thoughts after the whole ordeal. This chapter is dedicated to laurashrub, just because of the green goo._

_Thankies to:_

_laurashrub: Here's that girlie tantrum you wanted. I really couldn't write a HMC fic without it, as it happens in the book as well. Hope you enjoyed._

_Irin Black: I'm glad you like it, and believe me, I do understand your feelings about a great idea ruined by bad grammar. I've seen it a lot (especially in the realm of Inuyasha fanfiction), and it drives me nuts. I'm not as worried about reviews, because to be honest, a few good reviews (not just "OMG, lyke this is the best ficcie evar!!!!1111) are a lot better than a hundred reviews like the kind I just mentioned._

_So thankies to everyone whose left me a review up till now. I'm still trying to decide whether I should end it with the official ending of Howl's Moving Castle, or if I should continue into the Castle in the Air storyline (in which case, I need to buy the book...). If anyone has recommendations, let me know!_


	5. Chapter 5

_AN: I've never written for Howl's Moving Castle before, so please be gentle. I'm not entirely certain if this is going to have more points from the Anime or from the Book, but who knows. It's AU, but have pity on me. Once again, this is a first time thing, and if it goes well, I'll continue it. If it doesn't...well, I'll probably just leave well enough alone._

**Disclaimer: I dun own Howl, Sophie, or their castle. Please don't sue me, I have mouths to feed.**

Mist and Mysteries

By: Chibi-no-Oneesan

Chapter Five

She'd stayed.

Howl lay in his room, staring at the ceiling as though it were the most fascinating thing in the world. The goodness in that woman never ceased to amaze him. Despite his temper, despite yelling at her, despite undoing all her work. In spite of everything, she'd stayed.

He fingered his now black hair with a sigh. He supposed, looking back at the entire situation now, he'd over-reacted a bit. He was just tense. He'd received word from the King, ordering him to come to the palace for some reason or another. When one combined that with the turbulent feelings surrounding the entirety of the situation with Sophie, it was like walking through an emotional mine field.

He would have to apologize later.

He sighed, mentally bracing for the blow to his pride. What Michael had said was true. His two biggest flaws were his vanity and his pride. And look at where those got him. He'd be lucky if Sophie ever spoke to him again. And he'd almost put Calcifer out. He'd almost killed himself and his best friend.

He heard a rap on the door and closed his eyes, bracing for what was probably going to be a painful event.

"Howl, it's me, I'm coming in." Sophie's voice filtered through the door. She didn't ask.

He didn't mind. She was probably just coming to tell him she was going to leave, anyways. He took a steadying breath as he heard the door open. Then, he opened his eyes and looked towards the elderly-looking Sophie. He just watched as she walked in, holding a glass of milk and a cheese sandwich. Last meal? He wondered idly.

Sophie stared at him for a long minute, then, nudged the door shut with her toe. She didn't speak as she walked over, setting the simple meal on the cluttered table beside his bed. She simply watched him intently, her face set in an odd calm. "I thought about yelling at you, but it likely wouldn't do any good." She said softly.

He blinked, eyes widening. Then he smiled bitterly. "I have a thick skull." He admitted.

She nodded in agreement.

He winced. She didn't have to agree with him so readily.

"You do." She said softly, tugging lightly at her apron. "You're stubborn and proud and vain as a preening peacock." She said evenly. She watched him flinch with every word. "But I'm stubborn as well and I have a temper and I'm too scared usually to do anything about it so it festers."

He looked up at her, shocked. She'd touched on a few of his flaws, then flayed herself with words as well. His face softened a bit. "Sophie..."

She lifted a hand, requesting silence. She took a few steadying breaths. "I have no right to yell at you when I have a list of flaws just as long as yours." She said softly. "So I would like to make a compromise." She looked him dead in the face and saw him looking at her stunned and slightly suspicious.

"Compromise?"

She nodded firmly. "Yes."

He eyed her warily. Compromises with women usually didn't turn out too well for him. "What kind of compromise?"

For the first time since she'd entered the room, she felt nervous. "I will learn what order your things are supposed to be in the bathroom, if you will not make me apologize for messing up your hair. In return..." She let out her breath in a huff. "You will not slime the house again, and I will not make you apologize for the mess you made this time."

His eyes snapped wide and he stared at her. She was sitting rigidly, her hands fisted around the edge of her apron. It was as if she expected him to laugh at her suggestion. He reached out, catching a free flying strand of stubborn silver hair and tugged it lightly. "This isn't the dragon-lady..." He said softly. "I don't think I've met this Sophie before..." He kept his voice light and teasing.

A small smile turned up the corner of her lips. A shy smile, but not a mouses. It was a woman's smile. And her face returned to that of young Sophie and he smiled slightly. "So, who are you?" He asked softly.

She extracted his fingers from around her hair, her blue green eyes sliding closed. "Maybe this is who Sophie really is." She said softly. She set his hand lightly on the bed and stood, smiling. "Go ahead and drink your milk and eat your sandwich..." She turned to go and blushed when Howl caught her wrist gently. She turned towards him, seeing a warm look in his eyes. It could almost be called affection. Her blush darkened against her will, and she vaguely felt like a schoolgirl with her first crush all over again. Damn him.

Howl watched as she grew younger still, looking now like she had when they'd first met. "You're a good woman, Sophie." He said softly. "Thank you."

Her eyes widened and she looked away. Those two words meant more to her than she'd ever say. They were words she didn't hear often. It would figure the first time she'd hear them said by someone who meant them, the words would leave Howl's lips. She felt very old all of a sudden. She turned back towards him and saw worry in his eyes. She forced a smile. "You're welcome."

He was just thanking her because he thought she was old, she decided. She extracted her wrist from his grasp and headed towards the door. "Good night, Howl." She said softly.

"Good night, Sophie..." He offered back. When the door shut, he cursed. Why on earth was that damn curse causing him so much trouble?! He frowned deeply, then made a decision. He would go to Kingsbury tomorrow, stop by the palace, and on the way back, maybe stop in and see his old tutor. Mrs. Pentstemmon should have no trouble at all with this spell. She'd recognize it immediately, and she should know it's nature and what was making him have so much trouble with it.

"Bloody hell..." He mumbled, scrubbing his face with his hands. He'd better brace himself for tomorrow. He was a bloody coward, and this was going to test his will. Yet, to him, making Sophie better would help. Knowing what to do to help her would help.

He smiled slightly at the irony. The woman who made him feel more helpless than anything else was giving him the courage to do what he needed to...

He rested a hand over where the warm tingly feeling in his chest had settled. Oddly it was where his heart had once been.

It was a funny feeling, being in love. Feeling powerful and helpless at the same time, courage and fear. He stared up at the ceiling and smiled the first true smile he'd smiled in a very long time. Perhaps this feeling would give him the strength he needed to overcome his own curse, as well as hers. Either that, or it would be the final nail in his coffin.

He snorted slightly.

He wouldn't know unless he tried.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Michael was relieved at the peaceful feeling that had settled over the castle the next morning. Sophie looked a tad younger than normal, and Howl was already long gone. He skipped down the last few steps and breathed a deep sigh of relief. "Good grief, it's like a completely different castle this morning..." He said, seeing Sophie was wearing a peaceful expression. "I suppose that means your discussion with Howl went well?" He asked, grabbing two plates and flat ware and setting them on the table.

"Well enough." Sophie agreed. "I promised to learn how his spells in the bathroom go, and in return, he wont slime the house again." She quipped. She used a cup to cut a hole in the middle of two separate pieces of bread and dropped them in a skillet, then cracked an egg in the center.

Calcifer grinned. That seemed too easy. It would appear his assumptions about Howl were correct. The wizard was starting to fall for Sophie Hatter, old face or not. "He's lucky you didn't verbally flay him for making a mess of the castle." The demon said, eating the egg shells she tossed into his mouth. He glanced up and saw the slight smile on her face and peeked under the skillet.

"I couldn't yell at him when I have faults of my own." She said calmly.

Michael's jaw dropped. Her faults? Good grief..."Sophie...Howl could make you look like a saint." He said evenly, watching her flip the pieces of bread and egg. "What on earth are you making?"

She chuckled softly. "Eggie in a basket." She said. "It's something my father used to make." She gestured vaguely with her hands. "The fact is, Michael, Howl could drive a saint to drink." She served the meal onto each plate and put a plate of bacon and bowl of fruit on the table. She gave the younger boy a kiss on the forehead and moved to find the juice, not noting the adolescent boy blushing furiously with a dazed look on his face.

Michael looked to Calcifer, who was wearing an understanding, if not envious expression. He managed to school his expression before she got back to the table and looked at her, tilting a head to the side. She was a peculiar woman. Her young face didn't look terribly dissimilar from his Martha's and he had a nagging feeling that the girl's missing older sister was sitting right across from him. It would take some research, which was something he did enjoy doing, since it would bring him to Wales, and as a result, to Martha.

Sophie looked up and arched an eyebrow. Michael had a far-off look in his eyes and an almost dopey grin on his face. There was also a hint of pink spreading down his neck.

"Alas, looks like love." Calcifer teased from the fireplace.

Michael snapped out of his thoughts and blushed darker, digging into his food. "So, what are you going to do today, Sophie? With the house clean and Howl unavailable to argue with?"

She sighed, looking at the ceiling. "Well, just because the house is clean doesn't mean I don't have any work." She nibbled a piece of bacon and looked at the boy. "You?"

He flushed. "Um, I have...uh...business..."

She smirked. "Really? What's her name?"

The boy relaxed and sighed cheerfully. "Martha Hatter." He finished his breakfast quickly, moved his plate to the sink and headed out the door. "See you all later!" He was long gone before he realized he'd just given away the fact that he knew someone likely related to Sophie.

Sophie stared in shock at where the boy had once sat. The bacon that had been in her fingers had fallen silently to the plate. She looked down at her half-eaten breakfast and sighed, appetite suddenly gone. She picked it up and walked towards the fireplace and Calcifer, who was waiting, making yummy noises. "Open wide, Calcifer..." She said quietly. When the demon's mouth opened, she scooped the remains in and walked over to do the dishes. Calcifer didn't speak as she worked, of which she was grateful. She worked steadily, then set aside her chores and turned the doorknob green blob down, preparing to head out for some much needed mindless relaxation.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Michael sat in Cesari's, waiting for his girl's lunch break, chewing over the fact that he'd let such an important little secret slip. A cup of tea sat in front of him as he debated telling the blond that her sister was not, in fact, lost in the world. He knew the time would come eventually and he was completely baffled how to explain that the woman cleaning the castle he lived in was in fact, most likely Sophie Hatter.

He'd asked about the lost sister when he'd first gotten there, and she'd shown him a picture of the older woman that she kept in her wallet, a picture with her and another pretty blond, who had a face much more like Sophie's. He nibbled on a crumb cake and stared into nothing. Then, a short time later, a small hand settled on his shoulder.

"Hi, Michael..." Martha said, sliding into the chair beside him. She looked tired, worried. "How are you?"

His brow creased and he glanced around the room. "Martha, we need to talk someplace private..." He said softly. He saw her blush and felt one starting to color his cheeks as well. "Just to talk. There are things you need to know..." He took her hands in his and stood, walking outside and into a quiet alley nearby. "Martha, is your sister's name Sophie?" He asked quietly.

Her eyes lit up. "You know her?!" She threw her arms around his neck. "Where is she Michael? Is she safe?!"

He took a deep breath. "She's safe." He said, hugging her tightly. "As for where she is..." He made a vague gesture. "That's more complicated..." He set her down, keeping his hands on her arms, holding her back a bit. "I need you to listen to me, and understand that I would never lie to you."

She looked wary. "Michael, what's wrong with my sister?"

"The Sophie Hatter I know looks like an eighty-year old woman."

Martha blinked. "Well, she couldn't possibly be my sister, then..." She saw something urgent in his eyes, almost akin to panic.

"She is, Martha. I believe she is. Sometimes...she doesn't look so old. Some times, she looks like she's about twenty four."

She frowned. "That's not possible." She said, starting to pull away from him. "Don't make me feel hope like that and then lie to me-"

"I'm not bloody well lying!" He whispered fiercely. But it was too late. She'd broken free of him and was heading towards the entrance of the alley. "I live with the man that saved her life." Michael said, a bit desperate. "His name is Howl Jenkins."

She paused, looking back at him. "Excuse me?" She asked coldly. "Why should I believe you?" This wasn't the Martha he'd been seeing, the sweet, passionate, loving Martha. This Martha reminded him of the Dragon-Lady they had for a cleaning lady.

"Because it's true." He whispered, his face sad. She didn't believe him. She wouldn't believe him, he could see that now. He lowered his head, sighing. He pulled out some money he'd managed to scrape together and pushed it into her hand. "Here, for what I had today." He started walking away.

"You're leaving?" She sounded disbelieving.

He paused, turning back towards her. "What the point in wasting my breath when you wont believe me anyways?" He asked softly. She looked shocked at his words. "I'm going home. Don't worry, I wont show up any more." He turned away again, heading back towards Howl's door. What was the point in staying, in coming back, if she didn't love him enough to trust him?"

The patter of steps sounded behind him and two slender arms wrapped around his waste. He froze, staring ahead, heart pounding in his chest. How did Howl walk away from so many women when they did things like this? He closed his eyes, resting his hands on hers.

"I'm listening now." She whispered.

He turned, seeing a frightened look on her face. "Can you take the rest of the day off? This could take awhile..."

She nodded slightly, and pushed herself onto her toes, kissing his lips lightly. Then, she dropped down, running back into Cesari's. It was several minutes later when she returned. She was pale, teary eyed, her hands shaking. "They said that work should come before family, and that if I left to not bother coming back."

His brow creased in worry. "I understand. Go back to-"

"So I told them they could shove that job up their kazoo."

He stared at her pale, trembling figure for a long moment before a laugh escaped from his throat and he pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly. "Woman, you're completely insane!" He whooped, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around. When he set her back down, she buried her face into his chest to hide a sweet blush. "Then let's get you home...It'd be better to talk there. Fewer ears..."

When they reached the safety of her apartment, he helped her into a chair and sat down across from her. "This is going to sound completely insane." He said bluntly. "But bear with me." He saw an expectant look on her face and took her hand. "First off, I'm not from Wales." He said bluntly. "I don't even live here. I live in a place called Ingary, a world that parallels this one."

She opened her mouth, her brow furrowing, but he silenced her with a single finger. "Ingary and Wales are separate, but connected, and now and then, when someone needs something that they can't find in their world, a door is created between the two." He chewed his lower lip. "To be honest, I don't understand everything. Howl could explain everything better than I can."

"What does this have to do with Sophie looking like an old woman?" Martha asked softly.

He grinned a bit. "I don't know the whole story, no one's asking Sophie, because she doesn't think anyone knows that she's not as old as she looks. Calcifer might, and Howl's starting to suspect something, but I'm not sure he knows the whole story." He waved his hand vaguely. "Regardless, something happened the last night Sophie was here, and she's cursed now."

"Calcifer? Howl? Curses?" She started to look at him in a cross manner. "Michael, what are you playing at?"

He sighed. "Howl's a wizard, Calcifer is a fire demon." He said bluntly. Just facts. "I don't really know the whole story about how they're connected, but..." He shrugged, looking at her, miserably. "Sophie's been our cleaning lady since she got there. Self-appointed really, no matter what she says about Calcifer hiring her. Calcifer doesn't give a damn about dust."

She took a steadying breath. "This is completely crazy..." She said softly.

He lowered his head, staring at the carpet. Yes, to a non-believer, or someone who wasn't from Ingary, this would sound nuts, he supposed. How could he blame her for not believing him? Her hands wrapped around his, and he drove onward. "I think Calcifer and Sophie are planning something too, probably involving her curse. I don't know why she doesn't just let Howl break it for her." He was starting to ramble. Great. If his earlier words hadn't frightened her off, this certainly would-

"Michael."

It would figure. After all, he didn't have the charisma that Howl seemed to ooze, nor any real charm. He was just simple Michael Fisher from Kingsbury, and there was no way he should be able to keep a girl like Martha. She was too smart, too pretty for someone like-

A light slap on his cheek stirred him from his thoughts.

He looked up at her, stunned, and was about to say something, when her lips sealed over his and kissed him silent. When she pulled back, he stared at her, stunned.

"Shut up, Michael." She said softly, cupping his face gently in her hands. "I believe you."

He blinked, and stared. "Are we going completely mental?" He asked, resting his hands over hers.

"I certainly hope so." She said, grinning and leaning down to kiss him again.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

It was getting close.

Even his elderly tutor had noticed the doom looming behind him.

It would catch up soon. And when it did, Sophie would be in trouble.

Howl walked the streets of Kingsbury a long time after his business was concluded. He'd been right about going to see Mrs. Pentstemmon. The little old woman was more than willing to try to help him with Sophie's little problem. When the woman had started hitting a little too close to home with her queries, however, he quickly slithered out of the situation.

He'd managed to avoid visiting the palace, however, as he was having tea with the older woman. He knew he could only get out of going for so long, and soon it would no longer be a request, but an order, and if he ignored that order, he would be considered absent without leave and could likely be thrown in jail. It was getting late, and he figured he should get home soon, before Sophie was able to fully terrorize the other's in the castle.

A tiny smile turned up his lips, then turned back into a frown.

How many different ways could that woman terrorize such a small house, anyways? She was a bundle of raw energy, ancient in body or not. He often noticed by the end of the day, she still had excess energy, but lacked the ability to expel it further. It usually resulted in her rocking in a chair impatiently.

He started walking past a bookstore and paused, then smiled slightly. It wouldn't hurt to see if they had anything that she might like to read. He was about to go in when there was an awkward burning sensation in his chest that had nothing to do with his feelings for Sophie. "Blast..." He gasped, hurrying towards the door that would lead him back into his castle.

It was lucky that he wasn't far away.

He reached the door and threw it open, practically sailing inside. Calcifer was scarcely more than a green and blue flicker in the fireplace. He hurried over, gently reaching into the flame and lending the small demon some of his power. "Hold on." He said softly. He could see his heart had blackened a bit much for a standard moving. He looked around for the castles other occupant. "Stop Calcifer." He said calmly.

The demon relaxed, shivering and the castle ground to a halt.

Sophie turned abruptly, wide-eyed. He could see that the mouse was definitely in those eyes. She was scared, deathly afraid of something. "I believe I asked you not to terrorize my friend..." He said mildly, pulling his hand away from Calcifer.

She seemed to notice that Calcifer was burning low and rushed over, her face genuinely concerned. "Calcifer! Oh, my goodness, are you alright?!" She crouched by the fire, her brow creased in concern.

Howl almost touched her hair, then reconsidered, his eyes soft. "He just needs some rest." Howl said. "Let's not bother him." He moved towards the table, finding an apple and a knife and began removing the apples bright red skin. "So...what had Calcifer moving the castle so quickly, anyways?" He asked, sitting on the edge of the table and eying her as she sat slowly in the chair by the fireplace. It was her spot. A place he'd come to expect to find her during evenings. He'd found he even liked watching her impatiently bouncing the chair that didn't have rockers in order to do something.

She looked ashamed of herself. "A scarecrow..." She admitted. "I found it in some bushes, and pulled it out. I tend to talk to things when I'm by myself..." She blushed, looking down so he couldn't see the blush. "I'd headed back up to the castle...and it started..." She shuddered. "It followed me." She said faintly. "It tried to get into the castle..."

He could see that she was deeply afraid. His eyes softened and he cored the apple, setting it neatly in the pile of skin on the plate that still sat there from someone's lunch. He cut a slice of apple and offered it, still pressed slightly to the blade. "It's not safe..." He began, trying to explain the grave situation without breaking the rules his contract set. "For Calcifer to move the castle that fast. It's bad for him, and what's bad for him is bad for my heart." He almost grinned at the irony of that statement.

Sophie took the apple between trembling fingers. Then she nibbled at it quietly. "I should figure out what to do for dinner..." She said, looking down still.

"Nothing heated." He said calmly. "Calcifer doesn't have the strength. Perhaps I could have Michael bring some bread back from Cesari's, since I'm almost certain that's where he is..." He noticed the slightly alarmed look on Sophie's face and tilted his head to the side. "Bad idea?"

She blinked, realizing she was staring. As she watched, he took a slice of apple off the edge of the knife with his teeth and she quickly looked away. "I'll see if there's anything I can do cold, then..." She stood slowly, jumping when his free hand made a slight sweeping motion and the chair hit the back of her knees, sending her back down upon it. She looked up at him, about to snap at him, but found him leaning close to her face, wearing one of those devastating smiles.

"Just sit down, Dragon-Lady." He teased lightly. "Cheese sandwiches will do fine. So sit down and let your heart calm down." He saw the blush on her face and noticed she looked much younger than she had when he'd first come in. He was pleased with that. He tapped her nose lightly and straightened.

Sophie quickly looked away from Howl in time to see the knob swing towards black side down and Michael came walking through, wearing an extremely pleased expression on his face. "Good evening, Michael," she said quietly.

Michael walked right over, planted a huge kiss on her cheek, which stunned Sophie and caused Howl to adjust his grip on the knife in a threatening manner. Then, the dreamy-eyed boy went wandering up the stairs to his bedroom.

Howl huffed, feeling a tad jealous of his pupil. He glanced towards Sophie and saw her blushing, but an old woman once again. Damn him for interrupting. "Did he give you an arrhythmia?" Howl asked, arching an eyebrow and taking another slice of apple off the knife.

She glanced up at him, blushing still. She stood slowly, pulling the blanket that had been around her shoulders tighter. She turned her back to him, looking down at where Calcifer was recovering. "I'm fine, thank you." She bit her lip, a slightly sad expression on her face. "Goodnight, Howl..." She turned towards her cubby and walked into it, pulling the curtain closed behind her.

His face saddened as she went. He sagged, feeling a bit defeated. Every time he thought he knew what he'd have to do to break that curse, something undid his work. There were multiple layers to it, two, if one wanted to be precise, and he was starting to get the distinct feeling that the other layer was something Sophie had created herself. Why she would want to be in the form of an old woman all the time was beyond him.

The night before she'd mentioned she was stubborn.

Stubborn was right. That woman was about as mule-headed as an ass in a field full of cattle. She was stubborn, temperamental, and had her fair share of pride herself.

And he couldn't imagine this castle without her in it anymore.

He closed his eyes, sighing softly. There was nothing more he could do. He walked over to the fire and sat in Sophie's chair. Not his, hers. "Calcifer..." He called softly.

The demon peeked at him from between two logs. "Howl...I'm tired..." The demon sounded weak, tired, and scared.

"I know, old boy..." Howl said softly. "So am I..." He looked through the air, feeling much older than he truly was for the first time in a long time. "And it's catching up."

"I feel it too." Calcifer agreed. "What are we going to do about your little dragon-mouse?" he asked, spitting a few sparks with his slight laughter.

Howl smiled sadly. "She's going to be caught in the middle of a disaster, isn't she..." He shook his head and leaned back in the chair, staring at the ceiling. "Alas, but what should I do about my heart?" He wondered aloud.

"Sophie is taking care of that." Calcifer said evenly.

Howl barked with laughter, rocking out of the chair and to his feet. "Indeed, you may be right." He said in amusement. "Goodnight, Calcifer!" He called to the deeply confused fire demon.

Calcifer frowned deeply. "What the hell?" He mumbled, then burrowed under the logs, deciding he was too tired to decipher Howl's riddles that night. He'd think about it in the morning.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_AN: Sorry about it taking so long. I'm doing some story planning, and I've come to the conclusion that I'll likely write a sequel to this one,loosely based on Castle in the Air (I think I've figured out how I'm going to do it). Anyway, here go the thanks..._

_Irin Black: LOL I bought Castle in the Air and I'm going to read the entirety of it, but I already knew about Sophie/Morgan being a cat and Howl and Calcifer being turned into a djinn and magic carpet respectively. I think I've figured out what I'm going to do. LOL I'm actually terrified of the sequel_

_IntegralGirl: Found and repaired that awkward sentence. I'll be reposting Chapter 4 when I post this one, I actually let out several swear words when I realized that my normally good grammar had gone the way of the dodo. I blame sleep deprivation._

_Laurashrub: Yes, in the book, Sophie does in fact turn his hair pink. More suitable color to get upset about if you're a guy, I suppose. Especially since if I'd turned it Ginger, Sophie really would have let him have it, seeing as how in the book, her hair is likened to ginger or red-gold. Saying something like "This hair color is horrible," when your cleaning lady can make water undrinkable isn't a good idea..._

_JazkaStar: LOL Glad you like it. I've actually got the ending fully planned, and don't worry. I'm a rather adamant HowlxSophie supporter (mostly since Howl and Sophie from the book remind me of my husband and I), so they'll definitely wind up together._

_Nightshale: O.o; Feels a little exploited...like Calcifer Erm...okay...Glad you like it..._

_FlaviusD: I've actually been awaiting an opportunity to hit the local bookstore for copies of HMC and Castle in the Air. My copy of the Howl's Moving Castle was in New York, a ten hour drive away...I just bought them yesterday, and have been reading Howl's to refresh myself on the events in the book. What I've been using as a reminder at this point is a rather detailed chronology on Wilkipedia (God bless them). I'm glad you like the story up to Chapter four, and I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint! 3_


	6. Chapter 6

_AN: I've never written for Howl's Moving Castle before, so please be gentle. I'm not entirely certain if this is going to have more points from the Anime or from the Book, but who knows. It's AU, but have pity on me. Once again, this is a first time thing, and if it goes well, I'll continue it. If it doesn't...well, I'll probably just leave well enough alone._

**Disclaimer: I dun own Howl, Sophie, or their castle. Please don't sue me, I have mouths to feed.**

Mist and Mysteries

By: Chibi-no-Oneesan

Chapter Six

Everyone was relieved when they woke up in the morning and Calcifer was back to his old cranky and cantankerous self. Howl even made a few eggs just for Calcifer. Sophie seemed extremely relieved that she hadn't done any permanent damage.

Michael was just glad they got to eat a hot breakfast.

The conversation over breakfast was mild, although Calcifer couldn't stop teasing Michael for his rather dreamy-eyed behavior the night before. The adolescent pointedly ignored it and used some pithy, creative language to describe to Calcifer exactly where the fire demon could shove his opinion, whether it was anatomically possible or not.

Idly, Sophie wondered who exactly he'd learned that kind of language from and found herself hoping that he didn't use many of those words in front of her strong-minded sister.

Howl told Calcifer to heat some water and Calcifer's response was equally pithy and creative, but he heated the water anyways.

"Did his mother not teach him any manners?" Sophie wondered aloud, washing the morning's dishes.

Calcifer snorted. "I'm sure she did. I'm equally certain that he uses them when he's attempting to sway whoever he's presently courting into his arms or bed or whatever it is Howl does with them..." The fire demon scoffed. Then, he noticed how rigid Sophie's back had become. "Sophie, are you alright?" He asked, somewhat alarmed.

Michael looked towards where her hands were elbow deep in the water and his eyes widened. Great bubbles were rising to the surface and bursting. Almost like boiling water, because they were going faster and faster, and Sophie seemed not to notice, and finally, he cleared his throat. "Hey, Sophie, do you think when you're done with your work, you could help me with this spell?" He asked mildly, wishing she'd take her hands out of the water.

Howl may slime the house when he loses control, but for some reason, Sophie angry is infinitely more terrifying, he thought, watching her relax slightly. Michael glanced towards Calcifer and gestured with his head to the water.

"I have some laundry to do after this..." She said, slowly extracting her hands from the now painfully hot water. How odd, had she forgotten to turn on some cold water as well? She sighed, drying her hands and bending over to take a look at it. "I could try. I'm not sure how much help I'll be." She said, sighing. After all, she couldn't even figure out Howl and Calcifer's contract...

Howl...

Her anger was starting to bubble up once again and she took a steadying breath. She turned on the cold water and waited till the water cooled to a tolerable temperature. She heard the wizard humming cheerfully and began muttering. "How I wish he'd scald himself in a place that takes a long time to heal..." She grumbled, not noting how nervous the other two occupants in the room were getting. "Or turn his hair pink or purple or bright orange..." She continued to mutter vindictively until there was a distinct yelp from up the stairs and her brow furrowed in concern.

Then there was a squeak of a foot on a wet floor and then a thud that shook the castle.

Michael and Calcifer quickly buried themselves into what they were doing and Sophie did the same thing, feeling slightly better, since Karma had reached out and slapped the overgrown peacock.

Howl didn't come down right away, and seemed blissfully unaware when he did that Sophie seemed incredibly irritated. "How clumsy of me. Fell as I was getting out of the bath." He hummed cheerfully, tossing another log towards a disbelieving Calcifer. He barely spared Michael a glance, instead turning his gaze towards Sophie, whose forearms seemed unnaturally pink as she folded a pile of laundry that had finished drying in the time it had taken him to finish preparing himself for wherever he was going. He frowned. "Sophie, what happened to your hands?"

"I forgot to turn on the cold water with the hot." She said in a calm tone. She glanced up, about to be snotty, but her words died on her tongue when she saw the genuine concern on his face. "They'll be fine..." She said softly, looking down before anyone saw the blush rising to her old cheeks. "Leave the blue and silver suit. I'll mend it." She said calmly. She heard Howl moving around, but didn't look up, feeling ashamed for her wicked thoughts and words earlier.

Howl shifted a few things on a shelf and gave a slight grin when he found what he was looking for. A good sized tub of aloe vera. Then, he walked to where Sophie was dealing with clothes and set it down beside her. "Use this on them. It'll help." He then turned, ignoring the fact that Michael and Calcifer were looking at him suspiciously. "I'm off to Upper Folding." He announced, heading towards the door.

"Who are you seeing this time?" Calcifer asked, his brow narrowing. He managed to distract Howl from Sophie, who looked two parts annoyed, one part ashamed.

Michael jumped up. "Tell me she doesn't have any aunts I'm going to have to deal with!"

Howl waved them off. "You needn't worry about it."

Calcifer noted Sophie was getting more annoyed. She'd finished folding the laundry and was holding a rather large pair of scissors in a way the fire demon could tell likely meant pain for Howell Jenkins. He was about to warn Howl when the rather overdressed man headed towards the door, humming cheerfully. He threw open the door and stopped, eyes widening abruptly.

A rather horrible looking scarecrow stood there, looking at him as it bounced on the end of it's stick.

"Bloody hell..." He said, eyes widening. That was when the scarecrow seemed to decide it should force it's way in past him. It hit him hard enough in the chest it very nearly knocked the wind from him and he had to brace himself to not get bowled over.

Sophie let out a shriek, nearly losing her grip on the scissors and she scrambled backwards out of the chair, feet barely even touching the floor.

Calcifer blinked. "Then there really was a scarecrow?" He wondered, then huffed. "Wonders really never cease..."

Howl got his feet wedged against the thing's chest and shoved it forcefully from the castle as hard as he could. "That's...quite enough..." He said, storming outside and onto the heather. "What the devil do you think you're doing?"

Sophie managed to regain her composure enough to head towards where Howl was facing off with the scarecrow near the door. Michael's hand was at her elbow, as though he was worried she'd faint.

The scarecrow didn't answer. But then, it was a scarecrow, and scarecrows can't speak.

"Now you'll just have to leave. You scare Sophie." Howl said, his voice cross. "And who knows what she'll do when she's scared."

Sophie's hand tightened on the scissors.

Michael wisely backed away from her.

"Now that I think about it, you're scaring me, too." Howl said, then said something quietly and waved a hand, sending the scarecrow soaring backwards, arms pinwheeling in protest. The wizard glanced in briefly, his eyes on Sophie. "I daresay you're right. Quite a fearful creature. Is that all that remains of the last person you cleaned for?" He teased lightly as if he didn't notice that she held those scissors like she was about to take them to his throat.

Sophie sputtered.

Calcifer dove under the logs to hide.

Michael backed farther away from Sophie.

"Well, it's gone. I'm off now. Lettie's waiting." He said it so easily and he was out the door before anyone fully registered what had just been said.

Michael turned pale, looking towards Sophie. "Shit...Calcifer, you don't think he means..."

Calcifer trembled beneath his logs.

Sophie stared at where the wizard had once stood, her whole body shaking. He was going to see Lettie all those times he went to Upper Folding. He was moving in on her baby sister, and there was nothing she could really do to stop him. She felt a surge of envy, but she wasn't sure who she was jealous of, Howl for getting to see her sister, who'd been missing for quite awhile, or Lettie, for being the one who held Howl's attention.

She stormed up the stairs, found the blue and silver suit and sat down in her chair, feeling vindictive and angry. The scissors closed with a deadly sounding snip. She hoped Howl wasn't particularly fond of this suit.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Lettie was pretending.

Howl smiled indulgently as the girl pretended to show interest in what he was doing. He could tell that there was something on her mind, something that had her scared. "What's bothering you, Lettie?" He asked, leaning close to her and brushing some hair from her face.

She blushed in irritation. He figured it was because he was able to see right through her. It wasn't his fault. As she'd pointed out, she wasn't like the other girls he'd seen. "What is your interest in my sister, Howl?"

Ah, blunt as usual. Right to the point. "What makes you think I have some interest in your sister? You know you're the only girl for me." He teased.

She scowled at him. "My sister. Sophie."

His smirk faltered at her statement. He carefully mixed the two herbs together into the spell he was working, paying close attention. "I'm afraid I'm quite lost, my dear." He said calmly, pretending not to notice the glare he was receiving. "What about your sister?" Besides the fact that she's been my cleaning lady for nearing two weeks and she's about the most hard headed woman I've ever met and I think I'm falling in love with her regardless.

"You've been asking an awful lot of questions about her. Are you planning on going to Wales and trying to woo her like you do so many girls here?!" She demanded, slapping his arm lightly to get his attention. "Quit pretending that you're ignoring me."

He huffed, looking up at her from under his black eyebrows. "I always thought it was polite to ask questions in order to show interest in what a girl is talking about." He said, trying to remain calm. They were being watched. He could feel the eyes on his back, burning with a familiar kind of anger. Ah, it would figure that she would follow him. She must have 'borrowed' his seven league boots. He returned his attention to the girl he was with and saw her giving him a look that from where he stood was uncomfortable. He wondered if Sophie could see it.

"Howl Jenkins, don't make me wallop some sense into you." She said quietly, in a warning tone.

He leaned forward, kissing her cheek lightly and effectively stunned her into silence. Then, he went right back to working in silence. He heard a cat-like hiss from the doorway, but pretended he didn't. It wouldn't do to embarrass his Dragon-Lady into hurting anyone, mainly himself.

A few minutes later, that intense stare was off his back and he smiled sadly. She'd probably gone back to their home. Idly, he wondered what kind of temper tantrum she'd throw when she got there. He wasn't sure why he was so enamored with irritating the woman, but there was something about the angry light that she got in her eyes, the way they flashed, the way they darkened.

He could almost imagine that she might love him back.

A hand hit the back of his head, startling him out of his thoughts. He looked towards Lettie, who was dark red still and fuming. "Sorry, what?"

"Howl, if you're my friend, you'll tell me how you know my sister." She said softly, her tiny hands balled into two angry little fists.

He sighed softly. He could keep a friend or he could try to slip out of answering and potentially ruin the rather good thing the two of them had going. "I wouldn't have to go to Wales." He said evenly, leaning against the table and crossing his arms. "And since she's gone now and I don't have to worry about letting her know that I know, I suppose it's safe to tell you."

She blinked, frowning. "What _are_ you talking about?"

"Sophie." He made a vague gesture. "Did you know that she's arrived in Ingary quite recently. Wandered right into my castle, actually." He glanced at her and saw she was extremely pale. "She looks like she's about ninety years old, but now and then you can see the face behind the illusion. When she's angry, or when her guard is down."

Lettie set down quickly. More accurately, it was likely that she couldn't stand any longer. "Sophie..."

He smiled sympathetically. "Evidentially the Witch of the Waste found her in Wales and cursed her, but Sophie has a hand in it herself. It's almost as though she likes the disguise." He crossed his arms, looking out the window and descending to his thoughts. That would explain a lot. If she was doing it herself, then he wouldn't be able to break the curse.

"What are your intentions?" She asked in a weak sounding voice.

Damn that question. "I intend...to remove the curse from her." He said pointedly. "Then she may do as she pleases."

Lettie pressed a hand to her chest. "Can I see her?" She asked, sounding slightly broken. She looked up at him, her lower lip trembling. Tears swam in her blue, almond shaped eyes. "She's my sister..."

He considered how best to answer this question. He could tell her an outright lie, that she couldn't, or he could try to discourage her. He had a distinct feeling that letting her see Sophie too soon could be disastrous. "If you were cursed in such a way as she...would you want to see anyone you cared for?" He asked calmly, measuring a spoon full of cayenne into the spell.

She went silent, contemplating his words. "I don't know. I wouldn't want them to worry, so I suppose not..."

"Precisely."

She huffed, crossing her arms and glaring at him slightly. "Has Martha magically wandered in from Wales as well, Howl Jenkins?"

"Not as far as I know. Unless Sophie is hiding her somewhere for fear that I might eat her heart..." He said in a bland tone of voice. He heard Lettie let out a very unladylike snort and grinned towards her. "Something to say, my dear?"

"I'd be more worried for Sophie than Martha." She said bluntly. Then, she stood, grabbing the collar of his scarlet and gray suit in one small hand, pulling him to her level and looking him in the eye. "She's a sweet girl, and she isn't used to male attention."

He laughed outright. "I get that impression." He wheezed when he'd calmed enough to eek out a sentence. "But you're wrong, dear Lettie. The Sophie Hatter I know isn't a sweet girl at all." He saw her about to shout at him and shook his head, still chortling with laughter. "She's a dragon-lady..." He actually went weak-kneed and fell to the floor, sending up a layer of dust to hover in the air as he curled up on his side and laughed madly.

Sophie Hatter, a sweet girl! Picture that! The girl that told him his home was a pig-sty, the girl that called him heartless to his face, the girl that called him childish, who could engage in wordplay as well as he, was a 'sweet girl'.

The idea caused a strangled giggle to escape his throat as he tried to suppress his laughter.

Lettie sniffed in disdain.

When he'd regained control of himself, he sat against the table leg, catching his breath. "Thanks, I needed that..." he wheezed. He took several deep breaths to regain his control and looked at the irritated young lady.

"Howl..."

"I met the mouse as well, Lettie. The little mouse of a girl accosted by two men in a Welsh back alley on her way to Cesari's. I met her, and I'll tell you this, the Sophie that walked into my castle that night is a completely different woman." He got to his feet, dusting himself off.

The girl still looked troubled.

"Fear not, my dear." He said, offering his arm and smiling at her. "As Sophie is not like any other woman, I don't treat her like any other woman. Much like I don't treat you as any other woman." He said pointedly. "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind doing me a favor come midsummer's day..."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

After a lovely evening with Mrs. Fairfax and Lettie, he came home expecting his Dragon-Lady to be spitting mad. He expected the same questions he'd received from Lettie earlier that day. He expected to have a shouting match with the woman who he shared his home with. He was rather looking forward to it, actually.

He was not expecting the subdued company that waited for him.

Sophie was staring aimlessly over the soup she was stirring, Michael was sitting at the table, chin on his hands, staring into nothing as well. It would appear that they were deep in thought about something.

Calcifer was the only one who noticed him come in. "They've been like this for hours. He bemoaned. "I don't like them like this!"

Howl walked into the castle and saw Sophie's eyes focus a bit and turn to him. Then, she frowned slightly, huffed and deliberately, pointedly even, looked away.

Hm, so his dragon hadn't fully gone into hiding after all. He smiled cheerfully, walked over to her, took her shoulders and eased her into a chair and stood at the stove in her place. "If you cook while you're staring into space, you'll burn dinner. He said lightly, ignoring her soft growl of irritation. He idly wondered if she was showing her young face. A glance in her direction saw the illusion wavering. He hummed slightly, sniffing the soup. Perhaps she didn't want him to treat her how she thought he'd treat an old woman and wanted him to see her young face when she was angry. Interesting.

She huffed, turning and looking away from him. She longed to scream at him, wanted to yell and throw a world class temper tantrum that would shake the castle's very foundation. But her sister hadn't seemed to mind the wizard's attention. Seemed to even being enjoying it from what she'd seen. She could feel the envy clawing at her chest and forced herself to swallow her bitterness, remembering what else had happened that night.

In a valiant attempt to distract her from her anger, Michael had asked for her help with the spell he'd been working on. They'd been working for quite awhile, when finally, they'd decided to attempt one of the things in it and what resulted had been what had caused them to be so distracted that evening.

They tried to catch a falling star, had chased one until finally they just missed it, watching as the star lived it's final moments. It was terrified, and they had offered to help it, but it seemed more afraid of them than they were for it.

It had died.

She stared out at the star filled sky, her eyes slightly sad.

Howl frowned deeply when his mild badgering didn't spark a response. When he glanced towards her, he noticed she looked even older than normal. He sighed, turning his attention back to the soup. "Michael." He managed to keep the edge out of his voice, but only just. When he was certain he had the boy's attention, he continued. "Set the table." He said, keeping his feelings deep inside, as usual. The laughter of that afternoon seemed a thing of the past.

As Michael worked, Howl pulled the soup off Calcifer, who breathed a heavy sigh. "How's that spell going?" Howl asked cheerfully, forcing the emotion since everyone else's somber attitudes were making him feel on edge, and rather grumpy. He served the soup, watching in concern as Sophie hobbled over to the table. He did, however, notice the red on her arms had died down to a dull pink. She was moving like she looked, not like the energetic Sophie he was used to.

"Dismally." Michael said, sitting down and huffing. "Sophie had to help me and we still couldn't figure it out, and you know she's smart."

Indeed he did, but why did the adolescent need help on such a simple spell? He sighed, shaking his head. "I suppose I can give you a hand tomorrow when I return from speaking with the King..." He offered Sophie a hand to sit down, which she ignored. He pretended he didn't feel hurt by the action. After what he'd done earlier, he supposed he deserved it. It would appear his little Sophie had a jealous streak no one told him of.

Michael examined Sophie, seeing the rather irritated expression on her face and glanced towards Howl, who looked as he always did. Happily oblivious to the irritation growing in the older woman. He didn't, however miss the hand that brushed the woman's shoulder and the feel of magic that came from that gesture. It only took him a moment to figure out that Howl was trying to ease the pain she felt from their run earlier that evening.

He quickly reassessed his tutor's feelings for the woman and it suddenly hit him that if he'd realized that Sophie was in fact cursed, Howl undoubtedly knew as well. Knowing that he was seeing Sophie's other sister, the missing sister that Martha had told him of awhile ago, confirmed that there was no way that Howl didn't know. Suddenly, all the arguments made perfect sense. All the frustration that Michael had briefly glimpsed before it was quickly masked. Howl had been trying to break the curse, to no avail.

Michael had a feeling that whoever had cursed Sophie was a formidable opponent indeed.

Sophie heard Lettie's name mentioned several times over dinner and flinched each time she heard it. She longed for nothing more than to grab the soup pan and smash it into the side of Howl's smiling face, but she was too tired. It seemed that her rest had paid off as the pain in her joints had died down almost completely. She desperately wanted to yell at him to stay away from her sister, but she wasn't sure if that was the protective older sister, or the jealous woman inside her.

But she couldn't.

She didn't want Howl to know that she was the girl he'd helped on May Day, in Wales. The girl he'd left standing on the roof of Cesari's.

"If you go to walk your Martha home tomorrow, would you bring a loaf home?" Howl asked calmly.

Michael flushed darkly. "Hmm?" He asked, looking up.

Sophie looked towards the blushing boy and wanted to yell at him too suddenly. That, however, she knew was just an over-protective sister. From what she could see, Martha was giving Michael a run for his money, considering how strong-minded she tended to be.

"A loaf of bread?" Howl repeated, blinking innocently at the blushing boy. He glanced toward Sophie and saw her hunch further into herself. She knew that he was dating her youngest sister, eh?

"Oh..." Michael blushed. "She doesn't work at Cesari's anymore..." He said, scratching his neck. "They told her she couldn't go home because she was sick, so she told them to stick the job up their..." He cleared his throat. "Kazoo."

Howl and Sophie stared at him, stunned.

Michael squirmed under their intense gazes. Calcifer was snickering in the fireplace, throwing sparks.

Howl rubbed the bridge of his nose, his lips quivering.

Sophie's mouth twitched.

They looked at each other, and it seemed that seeing the other's amusement broke the tension that had been settled over the room for the majority of the day.

Sophie burst into giggles.

Howl tried to smother his laughter behind his hand and failed miserably.

Michael finally grinned grudgingly. He stood, carrying his empty bowl to the sink. "What can I say?" He said as he headed towards the stairs. "She has a way with words..." He shrugged, then went up to go to bed.

Sophie found herself with a severe case of the hiccups when her giggles finally died down. Ah, Martha, she thought, wiping a tear from her eyes. How I miss you..."I think Michael is in trouble." She said, hiccuping twice in the middle of the sentence.

Howl watched her giggle, finding he liked her face when she was happy. She didn't look old when she was happy, either. Her guard was down. Perhaps he should throw her off further. "I think you're right." He agreed, glancing towards where Calcifer was still dissolved in chortles. He was rolling around the fireplace. Some of the blackening on his heart appeared to have healed as well.

He smiled a bit, getting to his feet, seeing Sophie wipe a tear from her eyes as she giggled a bit more. "I think I shall head to bed, Sophie. Goodnight." Then he leaned towards her and kissed her cheek lightly, then walked steadily towards the stairs. When he'd reached them, he glanced back, seeing her staring at his back, a stunned look on her face. He just turned his gaze up the stairs and headed up after Michael.

Sophie stared at where he'd stood, eyes wide in shock. He'd glanced back at her before he'd disappeared up those stairs, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Her heart was thundering in her chest and she felt heat rising quickly to her cheeks.

Howl had kissed her.

That sent her crashing back to earth. But he'd kissed Lettie in a similar manner earlier that day. Why had he kissed her?

She silently collected the dishes, setting them in the sink and staring into nothing as she began washing them. If he liked Lettie, why had he done such a thing? Guilt filled her. Then, she shook herself, her eyes saddening.

He'd only kissed her cheek. It wasn't anything special. Just a light brush against her cheek. He had affectionately told his cleaning lady goodnight. That was all.

Calcifer, who'd gone deathly silent when he'd seen Howl kiss Sophie on the cheek had been watching her as she cleaned the dishes, heating water without needing to be asked, because he could see how dazed the poor girl was. She was almost finished when quite abruptly, she went from looking young to ancient in a matter of moments. When the dishes were done, she quietly put the remains of the meal in the cold box and climbed into bed.

He watched her still, his orange eyes sad. Alas, but Howl has his hands full as well, he thought quietly, before deciding that sleep was probably a good idea. He settled in the logs and dozed off.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_AN: It was pointed out how amusing it would be for Sophie to confront Michael about Martha but I don't think that would have worked considering the direction I'm taking the story in. I thought about it, believe me, but unfortunately, Sophie doesn't know anyone but Calcifer knows of her Curse yet. (Kinda naive of her, but there you go...) Anyways, please don't kill me for Sophie's angst bucket behavior at the end of the story. What would you do if you saw the guy you like kissing what you would consider a more attractive younger sister of yours and then he kissed you later? Personally, I think I'd try to strangle him, but...eheheh... . ; Expect new clothes for Sophie, Howl to yell at Sophie and Michael, and a trip to Wales next chapter 3 Anyways, thanks to:_

_laurashrub: Glad you liked it XD I seriously thought about having Sophie throw the scissors at the door after Howl left at the beginning of the chapter. XD It's what I would have done. I'll save the Sophie-violence for when she finds out that Howl actually knows about her curse XD_

_Irin Black: Yes, Wales is in our world. I'm glad you like how I'm doing with the characters. I kinda think I made Howl a little too honest with Lettie at the beginning of this chapter. But I put myself in her situation, and that's what I'd do. Besides, they always describe her as being rather strong minded in the book, and considering their relationship as friends, lying would definitely hurt it. LOL But who knows. _


	7. Chapter 7

_AN: I've never written for Howl's Moving Castle before, so please be gentle. I'm not entirely certain if this is going to have more points from the Anime or from the Book, but who knows. It's AU, but have pity on me. Once again, this is a first time thing, and if it goes well, I'll continue it. If it doesn't...well, I'll probably just leave well enough alone._

**Disclaimer: I dun own Howl, Sophie, or their castle. Please don't sue me, I have mouths to feed.**

Mist and Mysteries

By: Chibi-no-Oneesan

Chapter Seven

"You're lucky Howl hasn't found out exactly what you two were up to last night." Calcifer said to Sophie, chewing noisily on a log.

Sophie, done with the days work, sat in a chair beside him, thumbing through the pages of one of Howl's books on magic for something to do. She'd quite finished Gulliver's Travels, and a book of Fairy Tales, and all other fiction in the house, and decided that these might help her with Calcifer and Howl's predicament. Besides, the sooner she was able to help them, the sooner Calcifer would help her, and the sooner she could get the hell out of this insane place. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Probably better that way." He muttered, settling down among his logs to relax. Howl had long since headed off to the Palace and Michael through the black door into Wales. It was unlikely either would be back anytime soon, which meant he had Sophie to himself. He was pleased with that, but he wasn't certain why. Perhaps it was because she could talk life into things, or because she had more than two braincells to rub together.

Most likely, however, was because he did, in fact, hold Howl's heart, and it seemed to be growing healthier in her presence. He'd noticed it first days ago, the pulse in it growing stronger, the blackened part lightening, looking more and more like the heart had when he'd first taken it.

Just wait until Howl felt it do some of the tricks it tended to in Sophie's presence once he had it back.

Calcifer watched her trying to concentrate on the book she held, but her eyes kept drifting towards the door, a confused expression on her face. "Penny for your thoughts..." He said, although he had a feeling he knew where her thoughts were.

She jumped, blushing faintly. He grinned. She was cute like that, he decided. Old or not.

She brushed a stubborn strand of hair behind her ear and closed the book, holding it in her lap, her brow creasing. "Howl and Michael are dating my younger sisters..." She said softly. "Lettie and Martha..." She sighed, resting her chin in her hands and resting her elbows on the huge book. "Martha I'm not so worried about, she's a tough girl and Michael is young..." She looked towards Calcifer, seeing a knowing look on his face. "It's Lettie..."

The fire demon felt some pity for the girl. Of course she wouldn't admit to being jealous of her younger sister, it wouldn't be sisterly of her. At least he knew why she'd mangled one of Howl's suits the day before. He wouldn't tell Howl that Sophie cared for him like that. He should know himself. "You don't want her hurt?" Calcifer, sighed when she nodded, an uncertain look on her face.

"Lettie's a big girl, but..." She shook her head and waved a hand in a vague manner. "I'm afraid when she sets her mind to something..." Her face saddened. "Yesterday was the first time I'd seen her in very nearly two years." She felt even older than normal. She gave Calcifer a tired glance. The demon was looking at her in concern. "Don't worry about me, Calcifer. I'm not going to fall for Howl Jenkins. I'm not so foolish that I'd fall for someone who doesn't care for me. I'm just a cleaning lady." She sagged slightly in the chair.

That caused the heart to flinch a bit and he wanted to reach out and comfort the girl. But that was probably Howl's heart talking. "You're not just a cleaning lady, Sophie. And you deserve better than him, anyways."

Sophie looked at Calcifer, who was blushing and looking away, a rather embarrassed look on his face. A slight smile turned up the corner of her lips and she leaned forward, kissing the demon lightly on the forehead. "You're sweet, Calcifer." She said, pretending not to notice the demon go from green and blue to red in a matter of seconds.

It took several moments for Calcifer to put his thoughts back on the track. A wry grin turned up the corners of his lips and he glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. "You know, if you ever kiss Howl like that, he'll likely not know what to do with himself." He quipped, pleased when she blushed a bit herself.

She looked towards the door, her eyes uncertain. She could still feel Howl's lips against her cheek. The memory made her heart skip several beats in her chest. Her hand reached up slowly and touched where his lips had rested. Who was she trying to kid? Herself or Calcifer? Why couldn't she stop thinking about him? Why did she feel so damn jealous that she wanted to hit him with whatever was available?

Why had she felt a pain in her chest when she'd seen him kissing Lettie, and then why had her heart done a funny flop when he'd done the same to her?

She looked towards the fire demon, who was looking at her with a sympathetic but knowing expression on his face. "I don't want these feelings..." She whispered, confused. "You were right..." She whispered. "Howl doesn't eat hearts...he just steals them and when he's had his fun he breaks them." Tears welled in her eyes and she looked away so Calcifer wouldn't see. That's the problem. She wanted Howl to herself, but if Howl decided he wanted her, it would break Lettie's heart. Then, when Howl found someone new to entertain him, she too would be left broken, another in the chain of hurt women that formed behind Howl Jenkins. "Damn him..." She whispered fiercely, fisting her hands around the books binding.

Calcifer wanted to comfort her, tell her the truth, but that would be too close to telling her that he did, in fact, have Howl's heart in his care. "Howl's heartless..." He agreed. "But someday he'll find a girl that he doesn't want to toy with. I almost pity her when he sets his sights on her, because considering his reputation, she likely wont know until there's no question..."

She laughed bitterly and discretely dried her eyes. She glanced towards the table, where the pieces of Howl's blue and silver suit rested and huffed a sigh. She stood and walked towards it, finding a sewing needle and some blue thread and set to work on it, feeling tired and very, very old.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Howl walked down the street through Kingsbury, feeling very edgy. As he suspected, the King ordered him to find his brother, who'd gone after the wizard Suliman months ago. It was also heavily implied that destroying the Witch of the Waste would be nice too. It didn't help that he had the distinct feeling of impending doom settling over him.

It was catching up.

He walked up the steps leading to Mrs. Pentstemmon's home, feeling remarkably heavy-hearted considering he didn't have one. He was admitted and placed in one of the woman's sitting rooms. He stood when she entered, walked over and kissed her hands.

"Here again, Howl?" She asked, arching a fine white eyebrow at her pupil. "How may I help you today?"

He walked to a chair, dropping into it with a dramatic sigh. "It is as I feared. To add insult to grievous injury, he's talking about appointing me Royal Wizard." He huffed in a very child-like manner. "I have enough problems with that dragon lady and that damn curse of hers and the curse on me without having to deal with this too."

The old woman waited patiently for the rant to end. When he was finished and leaning back into the chair, sulking because she wasn't patting his head and treating him like the child he was pretending to be, she arched an eyebrow. "So...The kind has offered you and those whom you share your home a steady paycheck, and that's a bad thing why exactly?"

"Alas, I knew you wouldn't understand! You live in the king's right pocket!" Howl moaned. He put his head in his hands and rubbed his face. "It's selling my soul to the royal family!" He dramatically flopped backwards, sighing heavily.

"You know, if the Witch were out of the equation, you would only have two things to worry about." Mrs. Pentstemmon said calmly. "That is your Dragon-Lady and her curse." She rested her hands on her lap, looking at him, eyes clear. "Yours is catching up."

He nodded wearily. "Indeed." He said with a huff. "And I still don't know why I'm having such trouble with her's..." He shook his head. "Bloody woman likes it or something, I think..."

"Have you considered asking your fire demon about it?" She leaned onto one hand, looking at him with interest. There was something about the way his eyes go when he spoke of this woman Sophie. Something ancient and familiar. Her eyes narrowed slightly. A wry smile turned up the corners of her lips. "Or have you tried telling her you know?"

He looked towards her, quite pale. "No, of course not! The crazy woman makes water undrinkable when she's angry. If she finds out I've known all along..." He shuddered. "No, I'll not take that chance..."

She sighed, nodding. "Very well. Send her to me when you send her to blacken your name. I've no doubt you'll do that. And Howl..." She watched him pause in the act of standing and he looked at her, wide-eyed. "Do make sure that she has appropriate clothing. I'll undo the spell if I'm able, but...no promises..." She smiled knowingly at him and saw what could have been faint hints of a boyish blush coloring his cheeks. There was the young man she remembered training. "Go on, dear. I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon..."

Howl left the old woman, still feeling worried.

He would have been even more worried if he'd known that as he left the house, a woman was watching him, a slight smirk on her face.

"Ah, Howl...I have found you..."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sophie and Michael were both laughing when Howl returned from Kingsbury. He almost yelled at them, instead, preparing himself for the drama he excelled at. "Alas, disaster is upon me and no one can even say hello!" He practically wailed, sailing in, his arms laden with parcels."

Calcifer snorted. "I never say hello." Except to Sophie, he added mentally. He also reminded himself to poke fun at Howl for the odd flops his heart did whenever Sophie leveled that blue-green gaze at him.

"Good afternoon." She said, then turned back to the suit she was mending.

Howl walked over to the table, set one stack in front of Michael and the other in before Sophie. He walked around the table and sat down, watching their baffled expressions. "Are you going to open them or not?" He felt testy, tense. He wanted to know if Sophie liked what he'd gotten her.

Sophie frowned, opening the first box, and her eyes widened as her fingers lightly petted the attractive watered gray silk, which was edged with cream lace. The lace alone was worth a small fortune, since it appeared to be hand-made. Yes, there were the slightest flaws that only a trained eye would see. She looked up at Howl and saw him watching her closely. "What on earth is this for?" She asked, her voice trembling just a bit.

"I need you to pretend to be my mother and go blacken my name to the king." He said, blunt and to the point. He couldn't help the guilt he felt when the faint twinge of joy in her eyes was quickly squashed, and the youthful appearance she was getting sank back into the ancient face he saw whenever she felt quite old. He mentally cursed. He gestured towards Michael. "He can pretend to be your footman."

"You're presuming an awful lot." She said, her voice cold. "Why should I go blacken your name to the king?"

He felt irritation rising in him. How dare she presume to argue with him?! He put his most mournful voice out, hoping that he would sway her. "He has asked me to find his brother, being rather blunt that I should deal with the Witch as well..." He sighed mournfully, putting his face in his hands as though he was in despair. "And I fear if you don't agree to do this, I might slime the house you work so hard to clean. It's really out of my control at the moment, because I'm quite terrified..."

Fury roared through the woman. She stood slowly, resting the box on the table and walked towards the fireplace, but she wasn't looking at Calcifer. She was wondering if beating Howl with a burning log would knock some sense into his yellow-bellied self. Threaten to slime the house, would he?! She ground her teeth together, her hands balled into tiny fists. She bit her lip hard, keeping the flow of fury from leaving her lips. She could let him have it later. "Fine." She bit out after several minutes of silence with Michael and Calcifer looking at her in worry. Without a word, she picked up the parcels and headed towards her cubby.

"Howl, could you help me with this spell now?" Michael asked timidly.

Howl's mood brightened considerably when she agreed to do as he asked and he turned towards the boy, arching an eyebrow. "Yes, yes. Show me..." He extended his hand, waiting for the spell to be put in his hand. When the paper was, he stared at it, dumbstruck. "This isn't the spell I left you." He said, getting up and digging through the papers.

"Sophie and I tried working on it all day yesterday, but we couldn't figure it out. We tried to catch a falling star but-" Michael was cut off when Howl rounded on him, eyes furious.

"You _what_?!" He yelled. "You and Sophie?! Sophie..." His voice dropped to an angry snarl. "Of course, it would have been..." He turned towards the place she'd made herself at home and called her. "Sophie, get out here!"

She did so with a great deal of grumbling. When she reappeared, she glared at Howl in such a way that Howl definitely should have had his hair catch on fire, but she didn't speak.

"Two questions..." He asked, looking down at the paper. "Did you and Michael go try to catch a falling star?" He raised his hand, shaking his head. "Forget it. I can see you did. For the love of..." He muttered several curses, trying to gain control of his anger.

She didn't speak, instead, she continued to glare at him.

"You're both damn lucky you _didn't_ catch one!" He snapped.

"I rather felt sorry for it..." Michael muttered, feeling guilty. He'd accidentally tipped the house upside down himself this time, and Sophie looked like she was about to reach out and touch Howl, and not in a good way.

"You would." Howl growled at him. "And if you'd caught him, you'd have felt a great deal more sorrow for yourself!"

Calcifer piped up. "It wasn't that long ago that you caught one yourself!"

"I know that and I-" He felt his vocal chords seize and realized that the spell wouldn't let him talk about that, so he glared at the demon angrily. He could feel Sophie and Michael looking at him. Finally, he rounded on Sophie once again. "Second, did you turn the doorknob black side down and stick your nose through that door?!"

She huffed. "Just a fingertip, actually." She snapped back at him.

"Sophie strikes again..." He huffed, looking at the paper again. "I know what this is..." He started walking towards the door and hesitated. Sophie would follow anyways, and Michael should know what it was. It meant taking Sophie back to Wales, though. "Bloody hell..." He looked back at them and gestured for them to follow. "Come along, then. Michael deserves to know, and you'd just follow anyways, Dragon-Lady."

Sophie scowled at Howl as he turned the knob black side down and opened the door.

Calcifer called her. "Hey, let me know what's on the other side!" He said. "And you just got a hint!"

She was too distracted to realize what he meant or to think about it too much. The blackness swallowed Howl and Michael, who had traveled through it before, but she hesitated. She really could only do so for a moment when a hand reached through, wrapped around her wrist and pulled her though.

The darkness was only an inch thick, but she recognized the warm taffy feeling. Her eyes flew wide as she stepped into her own home town of Wales. It was a rather foggy day, like the day she'd met Howl in the first place. She glanced down to see whose hand had pulled her through and found it was Howl's. A flush colored her face abruptly and she quickly pulled her wrist from his hand.

She abruptly realized that she could easily walk to Cesari's from here. Or her own Hat shop. Her hands trembled and she looked in the direction of where she had once lived, towards her sister's apartment. She glanced towards Michael and Howl and saw a knowing expression on their faces.

"People usually feel a little unsettled after passing through the first time." Howl said calmly, not eluding to how much it really was that he knew.

She bit her lip, nodding. They headed up the street, towards a Tudor style home. She pretended she couldn't feel Howl's eyes on her back. She desperately wished he'd stop watching her.

When they stopped at the house, Howl moved forward, knocking at it lightly, smiling faintly and putting his hand over the peep hole. Sophie could hear some muttered curses in a female voice. When she glanced back to Howl and Michael, she blinked, noting their clothing had seemed to blur into a different look. Across Howl's back was "Welsh Rugby" written across his shoulders. It took her a few moments to realize she was looking at a letter jacket.

What on earth?

The door swung open, and a woman who looked an awful lot like Howl started speaking before she even looked up from the letter in her hands. "Whatever you're selling, we're not-" She looked up and stopped speaking abruptly. "What do you want?" She asked, her voice sounding cross.

"Ah, is that the only hello I get, Megan?" Howl asked, spreading his arms.

Sophie wanted to glare at him.

The woman frowned slightly. "Are you out of money again, Howell?"

Howl feigned a wounded look. "Do I need an excuse to visit my dear sister?" He asked, resting a hand over his chest. He held up the page, smiling faintly. "Has Neil lost a bit of homework?" He inquired, smiling.

The woman huffed, standing aside and letting them enter. She peered at those who walked in with him.

A young girl, much younger than even Martha looked up and jumped to her feet, running towards Howl and throwing her arms around his waist, almost knocking him to the floor. "Uncle Howell!" She cried happily. She squealed in delight when Howl picked her up and heaved her lightly into the air.

"Ah, I have something special for you, Mari." He said, then reached into his pocket, and he pulled out a coin, did two neat flips with it and turned it into a silk flower. "Now, where is that boy..." He set Mari down and put his hands on his hips, looking around. Then, he glanced at his sister. "Are my books still here?" He asked in a good natured way.

Megan walked towards a chair and frowned at him. "It's been awhile since you've been here, Howell. We sold them a year ago."

"Blast." He cursed.

"Blast!" Mari repeated.

"Mari!" Megan snapped, then glared at Howell. "Watch your language around your niece, little brother, or you'll be missing a vital piece of anatomy!"

Howl winced, then laughed. "Very well. Tell me, where is Neil?"

"In his room with that awful game." She gestured vaguely. "Will you be staying long?"

Howl smiled in a warm, fake-looking way. "I'm afraid that's impossible, dear. Perhaps during the Holidays." He bowed to his sister, winked at Mari, then headed into the hallway.

Sophie frowned faintly. Howl was from Wales as well? She hadn't know. Granted, he did know the little saucepan song, but she just thought that was an odd bit of information he'd picked up. She watched his back, seeing him smile pleasantly as he walked into a room and immediately unplugged the game system plugged into the huge tv.

A chorus of no's went up around the room.

One boy, she presumed he was Neil, spun and glared at Howl.

"Missing something?" He asked, waving the piece of paper in front of the boy.

Neil grabbed the paper and stared at it. "Where'd you find this? I looked everywhere for it!"

Sophie watched Howl slither out of the situation in an expert manner.

"More to the point, do you have the rest of it?"

Neil scratched his head. "Heck no. Got it from Ms. Angorian, my new English teacher. Found some paper with weird writing on it and when I couldn't find the homework, I turned that in to her instead. She's kind of terrifying when you don't turn in your homework."

Howl laughed in a good-natured way. "As are all English teachers."

"Now, what do I get for helping?" Neil asked, glaring at Howl. "You messed up my game, so no complaining, and don't try to slither out of it."

He gave a dramatic sigh. "I suppose next time I come by I could bring you a new game..."

"Could it be another one that nobody else has?!" The young boy was about to bounce out of his skin.

Howl patted his pocket and reached in, pulling out a square of plastic, handing it to the young boy. "Try this one on for size, then." Then he turned towards Sophie and Michael. "Now that we have that bit of information, shall we go?"

On the way out the door, Megan stopped them. "Ms. Angorian lives down town, over top a little tea house that used to be a hat shop." She said a bit coldly, her arms crossed over her chest. "And next time you're going to spoil one of my kids, make sure they're allowed to have what you give them. You disappear doing god only knows what, then show up asking for money when you bring things that cost ungodly amounts of money for my kids. Why don't you go out and get yourself a job?!"

Michael stared at her and was ducking behind Sophie for protection when the elderly looking woman spoke up. "Howl, we need to get this errand over with, or there's going to be paperwork piling up on your desk." She chided evenly.

Howl looked towards her, eyes wide, then grinned, catching on and playing along. "Of course, Miss Sophie." He agreed, then leaned forward, kissing his now embarrassed sister on the cheek. "Alas, but it was good to see you and the kids, Megan. Give Gareth my best." Then he headed out the door.

Once outside, with the door shut behind him, he flashed Sophie a quick thumbs up. "Quick thinking, my dear." He said in a teasing voice. "Now, let us go meet this Miss Angorian. I believe it will be highly educational. For all of us." He felt a broad grin spread across his face. The curse was at his heals, now. It wouldn't be long at all before he was pulled into it. At this point, he couldn't see any other choice than to let himself be.

Hopefully, his plan would work, or else life was going to become a great deal more complicated.

For everyone.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_AN: Another chapter gone. Sorry about the wait, I actually started having a little bit of trouble during the mid-end of this chapter. Hope it didn't disappoint. The next chapter will introduce Miss Angorian, and soon, Sophie will learn that Howl knows about her curse (watch out for fireworks XD). I'm still debating the future of this story, as in, the sequel, and I'm thinking that this might wind up being three parts. I don't know for sure. I just feel the need to go into what happened between the end of the first book and the start of the second. It is possible, though not probable, that the second 'Chapter' will wind up with a slightly higher rating than the first or third. Why? Because in Castle in the Air, Sophie is pregnant. There is only one way I know of that a woman gets pregnant. Ahem. Anyways, moving onto the thanks..._

_prettyinpinkgal: O.O Wow. Thanks for all the reviews, and all at once. I'm glad you like the story, and I'm pleased that my last few chapters haven't been disappointing. In all honesty, I'll probably wind up going through this poor story before starting the 'Sequel' and revamping it, adding more detail, and throwing in a few things that I've been thinking lately (I don't have a beta and I don't proof read usually), just to flesh some things in it out before the ending. Anyways, thank you lots _

_littleprincessofmercury: Thankies, and god I hope everyone likes it as much as the original. O.o; I'm still not 100 percent certain what I'm going to do with it, but I'll figure out something. The trick is going to be what I'm looking at between book 1 and book 2, since I have NO idea what happened then...o.o; Should be fun! Thanks!_

_laurashrub: LOL. Well, we'll see what I can swing. That little speech might have to wait until HMC 1.5. Sophie violence will occureth within the next two chapters. LOL_

_Irin Black: Glad you liked Chapter 6. Hope seven didn't disappoint. No, in this version, Martha is always Martha and Lettie is always Lettie. Since you've hopefully read this far, you'll see that Miss Angorian is in fact, going to rear her ugly head. Castle in the Air is going to be interesting to rewrite. I've already come to the conclusion that I can't possibly write that one without doing some of what I do with this one. As in, you're going to hear thoughts from everyone. LOL I'm not sure how I'm going to handle Sophie and Morgan being cats. It should be interesting, regardless!_

_Also, thankies to everyone who have put this story on Alert or on their favorites list! I love you all to pieces!_


	8. Chapter 8

_AN: I've never written for Howl's Moving Castle before, so please be gentle. I'm not entirely certain if this is going to have more points from the Anime or from the Book, but who knows. It's AU, but have pity on me. Once again, this is a first time thing, and if it goes well, I'll continue it. If it doesn't...well, I'll probably just leave well enough alone._

**Disclaimer: I dun own Howl, Sophie, or their castle. Please don't sue me, I have mouths to feed.**

Mist and Mysteries

By: Chibi-no-Oneesan

Chapter Eight

"It's called Song." The woman said, and Sophie couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy as the slender, smooth skinned, stunning creature took a seat and poured tea with a grace and confidence that Sophie had never possessed. It didn't take a genius to notice that Howl's eyes were too busy watching her every move to even take notice of her discomfort. She wanted to hit him fiercely. She didn't.

When they'd come in, Howl and Miss Angorian had introduced themselves and Howl introduced herself and Michael as well. Sophie had attempted to control the flinch she felt in her heart when she was introduced as his mother. Well, all things considered, she looked old enough to be just that.

In addition, her beloved hat shop had been turned into a tea house, and that dreadful woman was sitting in what had once been HER apartment.

It wasn't fair. Now, she'd lost everything.

Howl smiled in that irritating way of his, half-listening to the woman as she spoke. He could feel the tension in the woman at his side, and her anger was almost palpable. A glance now and then told him that she was, in fact, still wearing her old face and was giving Miss Angorian a look that could singe the hairs off a man's balls. He smiled nodding politely when said woman asked if he'd like to hear the whole poem. "Yes, that would be enjoyable. You have a lovely voice."

That glare turned towards him.

Alas, but she couldn't feel the magic coming off this woman.

He'd have to fix that later. When the time was right to let Sophie know that he knew.

Suddenly, it felt like something wrapped around his chest and began exerting an extreme force. Oh, he'd not been expecting this. Damn. It took several deep, controlled breaths not to jump up and leave the room running. He raised a hand, standing. "That's enough. I remember." He said, with a calm he didn't feel. "In the end, even the good woman is unfaithful..." He gave a forced smile and helped Sophie stand. "Come along, we shouldn't dally any longer. Work and all that. Thank you, Miss Angorian..." Fire demon. He realized. She was the witches fire demon. And she was strong.

Dammit.

He'd waltzed right into the spider's web, and brought Sophie with him.

"Let's make dinner next Tuesday." He said in as jovial a manner as he could, then took his apprentice and cleaning lady outside, and closed the door.

Sophie looked at Howl's face, noting it was a great deal paler than normal. "Howl? Are you alright?"

Michael echoed her concern.

Howl wasn't certain how to answer them, so he didn't, instead, heading rapidly towards his not-so-private bolt hole. Damn and blast. He began brainstorming, trying to think of how to avoid the curse further, but knew it was useless. Midsummer's eve. That wasn't long from now. And his Sophie was going to get caught in the middle of it. Perhaps he could use her envy of Miss Angorian to his advantage. She shouldn't want the woman on her turf, and that should keep her out of the castle and away from his heart. When he reached the yellow door, he wavered the spell that changed their clothing and walked into the castle, finding Calcifer in the fireplace. "She's caught up, old Blue-face." He said softly, walking towards the fireplace.

"I know, I felt it take." Calcifer said, his face serious. Howl did _not_ look well. He glanced towards Sophie and Michael and saw both of them wearing expressions of concern. That's right, they didn't really know everything. A further glance at Sophie showed that she was torn between anger and worry. Ah, but the heart really was a cruel device. Idly, he wondered what Howl would think of the tricks and tumbles his heart tried to do when she was nearby.

Sophie expected Howl to go upstairs and get into the bath, and was surprised when he sat in the chair she usually took by the fire, staring through the fire, his face pale and drawn. He seemed to be in no hurry to speak or move, so she walked towards the cold box, pulling out some leftover beef stew. Calcifer evidentially saw her coming and lowered his head without needing to be asked.

She paid little attention as Michael excused himself and disappeared up the stairs.

It took him quite awhile to regain control of himself. When he finally refocused on the present, he found the old woman had given way to young lady, and she was humming quietly as she stirred the stew. As if she felt his gaze, she glanced back at him. "Are you alright?"

"Well enough." He lied, knowing from how her eyes clouded over she knew he was lying. If only she knew how honest she made him long to be.

She turned her back, frowning. "Michael said something about going to visit Martha again." She bit out between clenched teeth.

"Ah, young love." He murmured, not taking his eyes off her stiff back. He heard Calcifer snicker and his eyes flicked towards his friend, who was eying him entirely too knowingly.

Sophie snorted, but she didn't sound amused. From the deeply concerned look on Calcifer's face, it was probably lucky for him that she wasn't looking towards him. Howl watched her leave the fireside abruptly and she began setting the table.

Calcifer leaned towards him. "Voice of experience?" the demon taunted lightly. There was a look of understanding in those orange eyes. Ah, but he would know how he felt. The demon might not feel the strange quivering in his chest, but he held Howl's heart still. Until perhaps Sophie was able to sever the contract. "Seriously, though, what do you plan to do about the curse?"

Howl smiled grimly. "I'll escape it, yet. It's caught up, but I have years of experience slipping out of nasty situations. This will be no different." Or at least not entirely different. He wondered if she realized how crucial a role she would play? He closed his eyes tilting his head back.

So many things could go wrong with this plan. If things didn't happen just so, then everything would be for nothing. He followed Sophie with his eyes, feeling Calcifer watching him. It didn't matter. Calcifer knew well enough anyways.

Sophie moved back towards them, testing the heat and taste of the soup. A little trailed down the corner of her mouth and Howl forced his gaze away before his actions betrayed him. She lifted the pot off Calcifer, relieving the smug demon of his burden and turned her back, moving to put it on the table. "It's on it's last night." She said idly, serving soup into the two bowls. "After this, it should really be gotten rid of..."

Howl stood, trying to ignore the knowing gaze on the demon's face. As he passed her, he gently patted her shoulder. God, he was weary...He sat down across from her usual spot and saw the shell shocked expression on her face. He smiled a bit. "There's soup on your face." He leaned towards her, covering annoyance at her abrupt backing with amusement.

She wiped the corner of her mouth, leaning far away from him.

There were times when she really wasn't certain if he was merely messing with her or not. He was a wizard. You'd think he'd notice the curse on her and try to do something about it! She heard Michael announce that he was leaving and wondered how long her eyes had been locked with Howl's pair. Blushing, she ripped her gaze away, beginning to eat her soup.

"You and Michael should be ready by noon tomorrow." Howl said, smiling that irritatingly calm smile.

How she wanted to hit him. She ate another bite to keep herself from saying something she'd ultimately regret. When she'd sufficiently calmed herself, she asked. "For what?"

"To go blacken my name, of course. You'll probably be able to get away with just speaking to Mrs. Penstemmon..." He noticed the look on her face and trailed off. She was furious. And old. He didn't like the mix, but he couldn't tell her the truth, not yet.

Her appetite was gone. Slowly, she stood with her bowl. She dumped the remains into Calcifer's mouth, and then set her bowl in the sink. Dishes could wait till tomorrow. Right now, she wanted some privacy. Some time to press her face into her pillow and cry silently. She ignored Howl's gaze on her. She ignored Calcifer's concerned questions. Without a word, she walked to her cubby and disappeared inside. Before another question could be asked, she shut the curtain and shoved the boxes off her small bed.

Howl winced at the crash.

"Nice move, Casanova..." Calcifer said in a disapproving way.

The wizard sighed softly, shaking his head. "I'm afraid I must cling to my dishonesty awhile longer, old friend, until the witch is gone, at least."

"You'll lose her. You know that, right? If you keep lying and mistreating her, you'll lose her."

Howl smiled bitterly. "I deserve to, wouldn't you say. Isn't ironic? The first woman I actually want to keep is the one I'm most likely to lose."

"So you really are falling for her. I suspected as much."

"Falling?" Howl asked, standing and dumping the remains into the trash. "Don't be ridiculous..." He set the pot in the sink and jotted a note for Michael, which he used magic to pin to the beam beside the stairs. He walked up the stairs, feeling rather melancholy. It was ridiculous. He wasn't falling for her. It wasn't possible to be falling for someone when you were still trying to figure up how to stand after hitting bottom.

Yes, he'd already fallen for her. No matter her near constant anger with him. No matter the old face, nothing. It really was ironic. He'd had a warm affection for the sweet, cute little mouse he'd left in Wales. He didn't fall in love with the mouse, or the sweet face.

Nope.

He'd fallen for his proud, temperamental, cranky, cantankerous, nosy, meddling cleaning lady. His Dragon-Lady. Wonders never ceased. But Calcifer was right. Horribly, terribly right. He gave a slight wave as he headed up the stair, hearing the ragged breaths that told him Sophie was crying. He forced himself to blot out the sound, walking up the stairs to his own room.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"I know Sophie's younger sister."

Howl glanced towards Michael, who was wearing a faint smile on his face. The young man was staring into the glass of lemonade that one of Mrs. Pentstemmon's servants had brought them. "You know Lettie?"

"No. I know Martha."

Howl frowned faintly. "Is she who you've been going to see all the time in Wales?"

Michael glanced towards him, seeing the faint look of disapproval on the wizard's face. He snorted. "Oh, come off it, Howl. If I could see her flitting back and forth between young and old, I know _you, _too. And you're to enamored of a pretty face to just leave her alone. What are you planning?"

Howl arched an eyebrow. "Since when, young Michael, do I explain myself to you?" He asked, smiling amicably. A glance towards the stairs, where a very old, very tired looking Sophie was coming down, he hurried up to assist her. He gave Michael a concerned glance. "Perhaps it would be best if we returned home." He said gently. Her lovely eyes met his and he saw that fire in them and knew before she spoke she disagreed. Stubborn woman, he thought, with just a hint of admiration tinging his exasperation.

"Don't be ridiculous..." She said crossly. "After her, meeting with the king will probably be more like a picnic on a spring day." She saw the mild concern on his face and scowled at him. "So let's go see him." She, meanwhile, marched down the stairs, her mind offering her phrases like yellow-bellied, and coward.

Seeing her face set into that expression, he knew he could sooner convince her the sky was purple than get her to listen to reason. "Alright, then." He strapped on some false-cheer, and headed up the street. He checked his stride, trying to make the trip easy on Sophie, while distracting them with the sights around the capitol city of Kingsbury. He pretended not to notice the confused, if slightly vindictive look she was giving his suit. Hmm? What had his former teacher told the woman that she'd give this suit a look as though she'd happily take her scissors to it and hack it to pieces?

Once they reached the palace, she was whisked off to the kings presence, leaving him alone once again. He leaned against a wall, pondering the situation regarding Sophie Hatter. She'd been showing her old face with increasing frequency. In fact, since that evening he'd impulsively set his lips against her cheek, he hadn't seen her young face scarcely at all. It troubled him that she was pulling farther into that mask she wore, and wondered what he must do to tear that mask away.

What came back with startling clarity was that if she'd made a deal with Calcifer, which he suspected she had, despite the fire demons evasion, then she could possibly be clinging to that ancient shell until she would be able to fulfill whatever condition had been set before her. And there was only one thing Calcifer would attempt to have anyone with Sophie's power do.

The fire demon was going to have her break their contract.

The thought saddened him ever so slightly. After all, Calcifer had been his friend for ages. He was also, however, Howl's weakest flank. Should the witches fire demon manage to get into the castle, Howl would never tell him. He would have to count on Sophie's jealousy of the woman, which would undoubtedly sharpen her feelings of hatred he knew she must already feel.

How he longed to tell her the truth, how he desperately wished he could. The very real feelings of love he held for her, feelings that would come to nothing, because Sophie was too good a woman to tolerate a man like him.

"Sophie!"

Michael's call stirred him and he looked up, seeing a tired, almost frightened looking Sophie walking towards them. Her limp seemed more exaggerated than usual. He straightened, moving towards her, before checking his stride, trying to hide his very real concern. "How did it go with the King?" Michael shot him a dirty look, but the cutting look Sophie gave him lashed him more effectively.

"The witch is here." Sophie managed, wheezing through her anger. "In Kingsbury. I got lost and ran into her."

He swore viciously. If the witch was here-"Mrs. Pentstemmon..." He realized, and with much more force than was necessary, he swore, causing them to jump, startled. Kingsbury was compromised. That was two out of three entrances she knew of. He hustled his small family down the stairs, towards the castle entrance. Glances found her goons waiting here and there, looking rather gooey. Yes, definitely compromised. He was going to have to move the whole castle.

He winced at the thought. To do so would consume massive amounts of energy, both his own and Calcifer's. Moving also petrified the demon, as there was always a possibility that one of them might not come out of it whole and hearty.

As they passed his old tutors home, he saw several people coming in and out, shouting. He looked away, belying none of his thoughts with his expression. That witch certainly knew how to rip out a man's guts. And now she undoubtedly knew of Sophie, meaning his little dragon-mouse was in trouble.

Alas, why didn't things in his life ever go according to plan?

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sophie had nightmares involving the Witch of the Waste and Miss Angorian that night. She tossed and turned uncomfortably, waking repeatedly. She could hear pacing overhead and knew it was Howl awake trying to figure out how to slither out of the situation. She decided to give up on her attempts at sleep, despite her acute exhaustion. She was simply too unsettled, too frightened.

The sun had barely caressed the horizon when the pacing stopped and she heard Howl come down the stairs and the front door opened and shut quietly. She peeked out through her curtains, unable to understand the hurt inside her when she noticed that the door was black dot up.

Wales. He'd gone to Wales.

No, he'd gone to Miss Angorian.

Sophie bit back the pain, finally raising from the bed. Just concern for Lettie, she told herself, while trying to ignore it. Really, it was Lettie's own fault for falling for the philandering phony. A man like that was more enamored with the chase than with the victory. She headed from her cubby, getting a pot and filling it with water. When Calcifer woke, she'd make tea, then start on breakfast.

She didn't have to wait long. The fire demon stirred among his embers and peeked up, looking at her ancient face, noting the look of deep pain on her face. "Are you okay?"

Sophie gently rubbed her chest, turning towards the tiny flame, giving it a minimal smile. "Yes. I'm fine." She gestured towards the pot on the stove. "Would you mind? I had a rough night."

Obviously, the demon thought, but didn't say so. "It's fine," he agreed, lowering his head, seeing the look of naked relief on her face. A glance around and he saw the door black blob down and wanted to swear viciously. He knew Howl didn't have interest in Lily Angorian. No. The man was simply going through that door to keep an eye on the woman they both knew to be the Witch's fire demon.

But Sophie couldn't know that. Howl wouldn't tell her and it was not Calcifer's place to expose the secret of another fire demon. Oh, but he wished he could. It didn't suit Sophie's face to wear such unhappiness. Her face was better suited to happiness, her smile brighter than the sun. Even aged as she usually appeared, she wore happiness better than the sad emotions.

The only thing she was equally suited to was anger, although he was certain Howl would not like the unhappy irritation that covered Sophie's face currently. No, while that guy didn't mind Sophie angry, he definitely didn't like her to be both old and angry. There was an almost masochistic glee in his eyes every time they argued and she wore her young face.

Calcifer found it highly entertaining when they would argue, especially knowing that Howl had a deep affection and, no doubt, attraction for the woman. Their highly vocal games of mental chess were amusing, but they left the little fire demon to wonder. He'd grown so comfortable here, and when the contract broke, Howl could ask him to leave, and there was no reason he could stay. No reason except that this rag-tag little bunch was the closest thing he had to a family.

Still, he'd have no grounds to stay with them, and after the contract and Sophie's curse was broken, if Howl had managed to out run his own curse, Calcifer knew the wizard would want the place to himself for awhile. Would he be able to leave these people he'd grown to actually care for, even if it's in a rather twisted way as it was with Howl himself?

No. He couldn't. Not voluntarily. He would have to ask Howl, in the most round-about way he could what would happen after the contract was broken.

Sophie took the pot off of him before he noticed the water boiling, a testament of how distracted he really was by his own thoughts. He watched her fix up a cup of tea for herself, noticing those heavy, dark bags beneath her eyes and sighed. "Sleepless night?"

She nodded, hiding a yawn behind her hand. "Nightmares." She admitted.

"If it makes you feel better, I don't think Howl got much sleep either." Calcifer caught the bag from her tea as she tossed it towards him and munched it. Doing so kicked the scent of herbs into the air, filling the room. He saw the rather sad expression on her face.

"Poor Lettie..." She said softly. "He's found a new girl to chase. Can't he be serious with one of these women he chases?"

He chose not to answer. There was nothing he could really say to soothe her without breaking Howl's confidence, and while he did like Sophie, and knew the wizard was growing genuinely serious. Calcifer knew that Howl was laying both of their futures in Sophie's hands, not telling her, not even hinting that she was vastly important to both of them. She likely wouldn't understand, regardless.

He knew Howl was putting his life, as well as his own heart on the line. The coward had a habit of telling himself that he wasn't doing something, just so he'd have the stomach to face it later on. It kept Howl from becoming over-stressed, which would lead to mistakes. He would cling to his dishonesty, until there was no other option, then he'd go ahead and let the curse take over. "So, what kind of nightmares?"

Sophie looked relieved at the change in subject and gave him a weak smile. She didn't answer, however, because Michael came down the stairs, rubbing his eyes and inquiring about breakfast.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Howl maintained his watch for several hours, standing in that miserable mist, trying not to shiver. He was probably a little under dressed for the weather. He'd listened to Sophie's tossing and turning all night and had wanted nothing more than to go down and offer her a sleep spell, just so she'd have a decent nights sleep. He'd be dealing with the dragon when he returned, he just knew it.

He leaned against the wall, trying to ignore the shivers working through him, until a sneeze wormed it's way from him. Well, so much for 'covert'. He heard a voice from the building call out and he headed back towards his bolt hole swiftly. Oh, he was tired, he ached, and not just because of Sophie at the moment. A brush of his fingers against his head found the flesh there to be hot. Damn. Little rest and the cold weather here seems to have given him a cold.

He sneezed several more times during his trek back to the door, and a cough crept up on him. When he reached the door, he desperately hoped that she would notice his state before attacking him with her teeth exposed. Perhaps once their curses were broken he wouldn't mind a little teeth now and then, but right now he simply wanted a warm blanket, something hot to drink, and to rest. Heaven help him.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_AN: Sorry about the long wait, all. My life has gone rather topsy turvy over the past year or so, and I'm afraid I've fallen more than a bit behind in writing this. Currently, I don't have my copy of the movie or my book (I'm in the process of moving yet again). I wont blame it on that alone, however. The fact is, I've been exposed/re-exposed to several fandoms which I've found myself needing to write for. As my DemonSaya name is a cacophony of Inuyasha, Rurouni Kenshin, and Ranma (most of which I hate), I'm planning on posting these new and fun fandoms here. Over the next week or so, I'll be planning the remainder of this and, of course 'A Tale of Two Hearts'. Once I have my books and the movie back, I'll start planning the sequel to this. Notably, my planned fics will likely be completed first, since I know where I'm going and how to get there. To eke out this chapter, I had to rely rather heavily on the Howl's Moving Castle wikipedia page (the book version, as it's got a detailed 'timeline'). Probably I'll be finished with 'Monster' (My Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro horrorish fic), and 'The Devil Does Exist' before I get into the new house and am able to re-locate my books and finish these two stories. I'm really sorry about the wait. I'll try to finish this one so that it's not sitting around for another year, however. Promise!_


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